A Life Worth Living
by easytoimagine
Summary: 17 years after Graduation...Caroline Forbes: Queen of Charleston. Hope Mikaelson: Daughter of the Original Hybrid. A scared, isolated girl trying to find the answers to her own problems which lie with Bonnie Bennett who coincidently is best friends with Caroline. Hope and Caroline meet, their friendship solidifies forming a bond even the Devil himself wouldn't be able to break.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! I've finally decided to upload my new story. I'm going to let you get straight into this one.**

 **I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think :D**

"Nik!" Rebekah's voice bellowed out throughout the mansion as she flashed into the kitchen to find Hope sitting at the table beside Elijah as she ate her cereal whilst the latter had his eyes on a newspaper which he carefully folded in half and placed to the side as Rebekah came in. "Where is that ungrateful little wan-"

"Rebekah, there is a child present." Elijah said with a lazy tone causing Hope to roll her eyes and push away her cereal as she glanced between them.

"I'm not a _child,_ I'm a 17 year old woman Uncle Elijah." His lips quirked up as he looked at his niece.

"Of course you are, dear, my apologies." His eyes moved back to Rebekah who was standing with her hands on her hips glaring at both of them. "What has Niklaus done now?"

"Nothing," she slipped into the seat opposite them, "I've just been to see Sophie and her coven, they can't find any damn answers about Hope's magic." She ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "What the hell are we supposed to do?" Hope leaned back in her seat and glanced up at her aunt.

"I'll be fine." Rebekah narrowed her eyes.

"You keep fainting when you use magic, tell me on what level that is _fine,_ Hope." Hope bit her lip and glanced away to see her father come through the door. "Nik, tell your daughter that she isn't in the right frame of mind, we need to figure out what's wrong." Klaus scanned over his family before stopping to look at his daughter who had tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Your aunt is right Hope, as much as it pains me to say that, I've contacted all my covens and they can't seem to figure it out, but that doesn't mean that we've stopped looking for answers, I will figure this out and in the meantime you will stay at home with Sophie."

"You've got to be kidding me." Hope murmured under her breath. Klaus raised his eyebrow challenging her to defy him. "I'm not going to be locked up here for days on end."

"You're vulnerable, Hope, I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. Let me know when I'm done being under house arrest." She said with a bite before she stormed past him. He sighed then followed her out as she began climbing the stairs. "You'll be staying in the Bayou for tonight, Hope." She span on the step to face him.

"No way." She gripped the banister tightly, "They hate me, I'm not going back there." Klaus felt his dead heart clench at her words.

"They don't hate you sweetheart, I made sure of that." She let out a mirthless laugh.

"By threatening to kill them if they didn't act with respect. They _hate_ me because I'm different. I don't want to be anywhere near them." She said resolutely just as Elijah came out followed by Rebekah.

"Hope, your mother wants to see you." Elijah said calmly. Hope rolled her eyes at him.

"If she wants to see me, she should come here instead of making me trudge half way across the city. Either way, I'm not going to the bayou." She flashed up the stairs, slammed the door shut and leaned against it running her hands over her face before stepping into the middle of the room which was full of canvases. She sighed releasing the overwhelming emptiness that had begun filling her.

 _Flashback_

" _You don't belong here." Jenny hissed into her ear as she sat beside her in front of the burning fire. Hope rolled her eyes before looking at her._

" _Maybe you're not comprehending the fact that my mother is your alpha and I'm her daughter making me part of this pack." Jenny smirked at her._

" _But your sorry excuse of a father is a bloodsucker making you one too. Like I said, you don't belong here, the sooner you're gone the better." She gave her a malicious smile before getting up, flicking her auburn hair and walking towards a group of teenagers who began sniggering and glancing at Hope who swallowed back her sadness and looked into the fire trying to find some warmth but none graced her being._

Hope glanced at the unfinished canvas in the corner, the dark brown wolf which was in mid howl against the backdrop of the moon which lit down upon its fur turning the hair a caramel brown in contrast to its bright gold eyes that seemed to grow out of the canvas. She picked up her paintbrush and swirled it in some light blue colour before dabbing specks in the previously gold eyes covering them up with light blue orbs that fitted the wolf, it was just like the others turning during a full moon but was unique in its own ways with the azure irises, her gaze slowly fell on the window which was angled just right to reflect her own eyes and she snapped them shut as she saw the light blue eyes reflected on her.

Placing the brush down, she picked up one of her father's sketchbooks that lined the bookstand, this one in particular had caught her eye as she had never seen it before, and the cover was an off white showing no significance to what secrets it held inside, with tattered markings and the spine which had been reshaped with the pages having constantly been flipped over creating lines at the place it was held together. The others were a much darker colour from black to dark greens, occasional reds if they had been given as presents. She found solace seeing her father's work, the patience shown in his markings and the workings of his mind evident in the calculated pencil marks.

She thumbed through the pages of this one finding pictures of a simple hut made of what seemed like wood, a fire had been built in front of it burning away as a shadow peeked out of the window. The next page was a young blond girl, her locks lowed effortlessly past her shoulders and she grinned as she held a violet flower in her fragile hands. Under the drawing was the name 'Rebekah', this must have been her aunt when she was just a child, her face was glowing with happiness and Hope wondered what had happened over the thousand years that her family had lived to turn into people who were feared. She had heard the whispers in the city as she grew, her father had a dangerous reputation and she had once seen it.

 _Flashback_

" _Hope!"_

" _Daddy!" She stumbled through the dark corridor heading towards her father's voice. "Dad!" Her fingers followed the line of the wall guiding her towards a heavy oak door, her 13 year old body was tired from the constant running she had undertaken as her vampire abilities had been 'turned off' by some crazy witches. "Dad!" Using all her strength, she pushed the door open slowly peeking out into the room and saw her father fighting with a group of men and woman who kept pouncing on him. Her heartbeat was elevated and she could hear the blood rushing through her ears as she breathed in slowly keeping her rate shallow._

" _Where is she?!" he screamed to one of the men that he held by the throat, veins rippled under his eyes which glowed a luminescent gold whilst he bared his fangs. "Where?!"_

" _I don't-" before he could finish his words Klaus ripped into his throat with his fangs tearing out a chunk of his neck and allowing crimson blood to smear his mouth. The man was thrown to the side as he set to work tearing apart the others as Hope watched from behind the door, what she hadn't anticipated was someone coming up from behind her, she felt hands grab her waist and haul her up over a shoulder, her eyes went wide as the person began running down the corridor from where she had just escaped from. Without thinking about what she had just seen, she screamed out for the one person she relied on._

" _DADDY!" The sound echoed through the whole building and rang in Klaus' ears, he released the woman he was about to kill and scrambled towards the door throwing it open to see his daughter being carried down the corridor, his mind became blank and his usual thought out plans were nowhere to be found instead they became replaced the basic primal instinct to save his daughter._

 _Hope watched his face transform again and blinked to see him gone suddenly just as whoever was carrying her froze and began shaking. She felt herself being lowered to the floor and escaped the person's hands backing into the wall, her vision was marred with her father ripping the man's organs out before finally ending his life with a crush of his heart._

" _Hope…" she heard her father's voice enter her ear and she looked at him to see his clothes soaked in blood but his face back to his human form. Without thinking twice, she rushed into his arms hugging him tightly allowing the blood to soak her clothes too._

She was drawn away from the memory when her fingers fell on the face of a blonde woman smiling. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and gratitude as her cheeks were a blush pink. Her hair was straightened but held a wavy effect as it flowed around her shoulders, her dress was a light green with hints of white and the backdrop consisted of a…football stadium? Hope blinked furiously trying to figure out who this woman was, she had never seen her before and as her eyes travelled down the drawing she found the word 'Light' softly written in the corner of the portrait. The name was quite correct, whoever this was, she was full of light, her entity brought such brightness that it actually warmed Hope inside. Flicking the page over she found the woman again but this time dressed in what seemed to be a ball gown with her hair up in a bun and soft tendrils framing her face. The dress was a dark blue with lace straps, her hands were covered in white gloves as a sparking infinity bracelet graced her wrist.

 _Sparkling infinity bracelet?_

Hope's eyes widened, without thinking she ripped the page form the book, she placed the book back on the shelf and quietly entered her father's bedroom, without wasting any time she opened the draw in the night stand which was full of necklaces, reaching in she fumbled around in the back and found it. Plucking it out from the draw, she raised it to the light allowing it to shimmer. She flashed into her room closing the door softly before sitting on the bed and laying the bracelet against the drawing, her eyes pinpointed the features of the diamonds that lined the jewellery and the diamonds carefully drawn out in the sketch.

"It's the same." She murmured to herself, her eyes drifted back to the woman, _who is she?_ The words that were carefully scripted on the bottom of the sketch made her even more confused.

 _Caroline_

 _However long it takes_

Before she could wonder anymore, the door knob twisted, she pushed the bracelet and drawing under her pillow and pulled out a grimoire instead just as the door opened to reveal Klaus. She couldn't ask him who this woman was, for one she didn't want him to know that she was snooping and two, she didn't want him to lie to her and then raise his suspicion.

"Hope, I know you don't like going to the bayou-"

"It's fine. I'll go." He sat beside her on the bed wondering where this change of heart had appeared form. "Look, I get it. You want me to be in touch with my heritage and that's fine. I'll go." He smiled allowing his dimples which she shared peak out.

"Good, I-"She smirked at him.

"But…" His smile lowered as he waited for her to continue.

"But?"

"I don't want to stay for the whole night. I want to stay with Sophie, she can teach me some simple protection spells that won't drain my magic." He shook his head.

"Sweetheart, your mother is expecting you to stay the whole night, as is the pack, you can't-"She snapped up and stood in front of Klaus.

"And I'll be there like she expected, but I need to put my safety first, what happens if someone comes to the bayou in the middle of the night and I can't control my magic again, next thing you know I could turn everyone into pumpkins." He tried to stifle a laugh but failed miserably.

"Pumpkins?" He chuckled at her adamant yet cute stare.

"Yes, _pumpkins,_ you've seen it happen in Cinderella-"

"Don't remind me." He muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes.

"-and it's not a major jump for it to happen to the pack. Therefore, I can't stay the night unless you want me to turn them all into magical beings from a fairy-tale and if you don't agree with me then you can be the one to explain to a whole pack of wolves how they turned into vegetables because _you_ couldn't just agree with little, old me." She tilted her head with a small smile and her hands resting on her hips greatly resembling Rebekah. Klaus smirked at her rant as she reminded him of another blonde who he hadn't seen in 17 years after attending said-woman's graduation.

He shook his head clearing his thoughts and looked back up at his daughter who was staring at him with an 'I'm a sweet, innocent puppy' look that she had adopted from the age of 4 whenever she wanted something. He sighed in disbelief at how such a look could make him melt and want to agree with everything she was saying.

"Fine. But you will explain to your mother as to why you won't be staying the full night like she had arranged." Hope grinned and launched herself at him rapping her arms around his neck.

"Thanks, Dad." Klaus returned the embrace before standing up.

"I'll tell Sophie to come down to the bayou to get you and then you'll stay with her. Make sure you grab everything you need."

"I will, thanks again."

"You're welcome, sweetheart." He gave her a smile as she grabbed her bag from underneath the bed and began taking some clothes and her toothbrush. He closed the door behind him as he left the room and headed back down the stairs to tell his siblings of tonight's arrangement.

Back inside her room, Hope twirled the bracelet in her fingers as she looked back down at the picture before folding it up with the bracelet inside and placed it in her overnight bag which she was going to take with her to the bayou. Hope ran her fingers through her hair as she turned and looked at the wilting rose on the window sill, she approached it and brushed her fingertips against the petals and pictured it straightening up into a velvety scarlet rose which she projected onto the object allowing her will to be followed through. She smirked feeling proud of the little magic she could do without putting herself through too much strain but she could still feel the tingles in her fingers as she pulled away.

"Come on." She said under her breath as she wiggled her fingers trying to get rid of the sensation making it lessen but it took minutes until it finally disappeared.

"Hope!" Rebekah came into her room and tilted her head as she looked between the rose and her niece before cocking her eyebrow up. "You know you can't do any unnecessary magic, you'll hurt yourself." Hope rolled her eyes.

"What's the point in having magic when I can't use any of it?" She said with a tense tone feeling sick and tired of having the same conversation again.

"You know the risks-"Hope strode towards her bag grabbing it before storming past Rebekah and down the stairs.

"Yes. I get it! Magic's a bitch."

"Hope." Elijah chastised her for her words. She narrowed her eyes wanting them to all be quiet for once and allow her to break the rules.

"God, why do you all have to crowd me _so_ much, isn't it enough that I can't go out of this house without having someone come with me, or the fact that I didn't go to school or maybe have any _real_ friends because all of you think that everyone who tries to get close to me wants to kill me! This isn't a soap opera, this is _real_ life where not everyone wants to kill everyone else!" She shouted out at them coming to a breathless stop. Rebekah glanced at Elijah who pursed his lips.

"Hope, we understand but our family has lots of enemies-"Hope scoffed whilst Klaus came in wondering what the shouting was all about, "-we're just trying to protect you. The supernatural world is split, some believe you're a miracle whilst others think you're a –"

"Not natural. It's not your fault." Hope rolled her eyes at her father.

"You're right. It's not my fault that my father couldn't keep it in his pants and stop himself from screwing my mother." She picked up her bag. "Yep, totally not my fault. Except for the fact that everyone thinks I'm either a magical miracle child or one who's going to bring the end of the world around…you know what, screw it, if she wants to spend some time with me it's going to be on my terms not her or her pack. I'd like to be dropped off at the bayou now please." Hope shook her head as she turned around and walked out of the house before sitting in the car to wait for her father.

"Niklaus, she didn't mean it." Klaus sighed as he ignored his brother and followed his daughter out leaving his siblings behind.

"What do we do?" Rebekah whispered as she approached Elijah who remained pensive.

"Always and forever, Rebekah." He said before flashing into the library. Rebekah shook her head as an unsure curve crossed her lips.

"What does that even mean anymore?" She murmured to herself.

* * *

Silence had fallen between them which neither had tried to fill until they had arrived in the bayou and began trudging through the mud.

"I'm trying keep you safe." Klaus murmured as they walked through the fallen leaves. Hope glanced at her father saw his expressionless face as he looked ahead ignoring the voice in his head which told him to look at her.

"I know." She sighed. "But I want a _normal_ life, dad. I'm 17, a teenager, I should be going to school, hanging out with my friends, meeting boys." Klaus glared at her as his daughter rolled her eyes.

"Over my dead body."

"You can't die." He smirked.

"Exactly." Hope scoffed.

"Boys aside, I need some sense of normality, you can't protect me for an eternity no matter how much you try."

"Of course I can." Hope shook her head as they got closer to where the pack resided before narrowing her eyes at him.

"What? So you're going to follow me around wherever I go, you can't do that." Klaus shrugged his shoulders before looking back at her to see the fire in her eyes, he suppressed the urge to laugh at her adorable yet deadly expression.

"Of course not, your uncle and aunt would help me as would the pack." As the words left his mouth they entered a clearing where the pack were. Klaus stood straighter his presence commanding the respect of the beings before him.

"Klaus." Jackson strode towards them offering Hope a smile, "We weren't expecting you till the evening." Klaus gave him a smirk.

"Yes well, I like to keep things interesting, where is Hayley?" The brunette came striding out form the forest glaring at Klaus but her gaze softened as they fell on Hope who pursed her lips and stood taller having learnt the posture from her father.

"Klaus, Hope. I thought you were coming later?" She asked confused at their sudden appearance.

"Yeah well, I decided that I would come earlier since I won't be staying the whole night." Hayley's eyes flickered between the pair.

"Klaus a word?" She gestured to the side leaving her daughter with Jackson who began talking to her. "Why are you here so early?"

"Would you believe that Hope wanted to see you?" He glared at her causing her to look away.

"Why isn't she staying for the whole night?" She said with a hard edge to her voice.

"She wants to go to Sophie to figure out what's wrong with her magic." As Hayley opened her mouth to speak, they were interrupted by Hope.

"Look, if you don't want me here, then fine, I'll just go and dad, shouldn't you be looking for some answers?" She said with a hint of venom. Hayley cleared her throat before turning to her.

"Of course not, I still have some things left to do but I'll be back in a few minutes." She called for Jackson who took Hope's bag for her before glaring at Klaus and flashing away. Hope glanced up at Jackson who felt the awkwardness and left the pair. Klaus glared at the path Hayley had taken before looking at his daughter who was shuffling on her feet.

"I'll see you later, sweetheart." He said quietly, she looked up and nodded giving him a tight smile before enveloping him in a hug which he returned.

"Bye, dad." Giving her a small smile and scanning the area, he looked at her and then walked away returning to his car and leaving Hope in the clearing.

"Hope?" She swallowed back her nerves and turned to Jackson who was waiting for her. "Come on." She walked towards him crossing her arms over her chest following as he walked towards a cabin which she had come to know as 'the office' since it had a large business like desk in the centre and books full of werewolves lining the walls. "Since you won't be staying the night, I'll just tell you the basics of today's lesson. Werewolf history."

"Didn't we already cover this? My dad's dad was the alpha of the first wolf pack, yada, yada, yada…" She leaned back watching Jackson run his fingers along the spines of the books on the shelves.

"I suppose we have, but this time we're going to learn about myths and where they derived from." He gave her a small smile before looking back at the books. Hope sighed internally not wanting Jackson to feel bad. She couldn't argue the fact he was nice, he was a good husband to her mother and he didn't hate her but she could tell he wasn't completely comfortable with her, neither of them were to each other. She glanced out of the window to see Jenny laughing with a group as they sat on the sun bathed grass. How she longed to have a life like that.

"Hope." Her attention was drawn back to Jackson as he placed a book in front of her and walked to the other side of the desk to sit in the chair. "So, where do you think myths were derived from…?"

Taking a deep breath she prepared herself for the next hour of learning, she laughed mirthlessly inside, her mother promised to be a few minutes like she always did but it would always turn into hours.

"I guess it must have something to do with people's perceptions…."

* * *

The few minutes turned into an hour without her mother, then two and when she had actually looked at her phone she saw it had been three hours until Hayley had finally finished her errands.

The sky had begun to darken incredibly as Hope sat on the steps that led up to the cabin.

"Hope!" She looked up to see Hayley walking towards her, "I'm sorry, it took longer than I expected, I promise it won't happen again." She rolled her eyes.

"You said that last time as well, you should really look for better excuses." Hayley let out a strained breath and closed her eyes before reopening them as Hope stood up and looked at her phone. "Well, it's been 3 hours and I have to go now." Hayley reached out to stop her.

"Look, I'm sorry, just stay for a bit longer, the pack wants to talk to you." Hope scoffed at her mother.

"I wanted to spend some time with you, not the pack or Jackson or anyone else. You." Hayley frowned and her shoulders sagged.

"I'm sor-"

"Sorry. I know."

"How about we talk now." Hayley sat on the steps beside her and patted the space for Hope to sit. "How have you been?" Hope crossed her arms over her chest.

"Good, you?"

"I've been good as well, so is the pack. You know you should stay the night and get to really know them, they'd love it and so would you." Hope grit her teeth before ignoring what she said.

"What's your favourite colour?" Hayley's brow furrowed at the question.

"Umm, orange. Why?" Hope shook her head with a small smile.

"I didn't know that about you. You're my mom and I don't even know that detail." Hayley sighed before looking out to the darkening trees that surrounded them. She felt a pit at the bottom of her stomach at Hope's confession which she tried to ignore but failed. "Do you have a middle name?"

"No." Hope hummed at her answer as they both looked out ahead rather than at each other. "What's your favourite food?" Hope smiled.

"Dad's pancakes, they're amazing." Hayley nodded, she hadn't ever seen Klaus cook before, and yet one of her daughter's favourite foods was his dishes. "Actually, it might also be his spaghetti Bolognese or pizza when he makes it. I really can't decide but it's definitely one of his dishes that I love." Hayley felt a sense of loneliness at her words, it was very rare for her to see Hope at the mansion since the pack didn't like their alpha living in a house of vampires even if she was half vampire herself.

"That's nice."

"Hmmm." They descended into silence which neither filled which neither attempted to fill even though it felt awkward.

"Hayley." Jenny approached them with a fake smile. "I was hoping we could start now." Hope looked between them.

"Start what?"

"Training. She's teaching me how to defend myself and lead." Hayley smirked at Jenny and nodded, Hope watched her mother's face transform into one of joy and happiness whilst she herself felt a burst of jealousy run through her.

"Lead?" Hayley stood up and walked towards the girl without looking back at Hope who remained sitting on the steps.

"She's going to lead a pack one day," Hayley laid her hand on the girl's shoulder and looked at her proudly, "I have high hopes for you. Come on." They began walking away before Hayley turned back to look at Hope, "I'll see you next time, Hope." She gave her a small smile which Hope mirrored forcefully as Jenny lead her mother away and they disappeared.

Hope took out her phone and got up walking back to the cabin where she took her bag and then called Sophie.

"Hey Soph, can you pick me up now?"

" _Yeah sure, give me two minutes, I'll be there."_ Sophie hung up as Hope left the cabin and began walking towards the road where she would get picked up. She didn't bother telling anyone she was going, it's not like any of them would care.

* * *

A few minutes later Hope hopped into a little black car which Sophie was driving. "Hey Sophie."

"Hey Hope, what was it like today?" Hope rolled her eyes with a sigh and leaned her head back.

"Pointless, like it is every time. I know that she's my mom and that the pack is her priority but sometimes I just wish…."

"You just wish that she'd act more like your mom than an alpha."

"Yeah, I mean is that too much to ask?" Sophie glanced at Hope as she turned into the Quarter.

"No, look Hope, I understand how you're feeling and-"

"I didn't even know her favourite colour." Hope looked out of the window watching the lights flash by. "And she didn't know my favourite food. 17 years and we don't know a single meaningful thing about each other. How sad is that?" Sophie stopped the car in front of her house and Hope got out swiftly grabbing her bag and heading into the building.

"Why did you want to see me Hope?" The younger blonde placed her bag on the sofa and turned to look at the brunette.

"I want your help, I want to know what's wrong with me." Hope said in an exasperated tone. "Tell me what's wrong with my magic."

"I don't know, we've all been trying to figure it out, we don't have any answers."

"Then find someone who does." Hope snarled out channelling her father's temper before she clenched her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, I'm just really, really frustrated."

"It's ok, I understand. We're all looking for a lead in New Orleans but we can't find any witch who would know."

"In New Orleans? How about outside of the city?" Sophie grabbed a map from her paper littered desk and placed it on the small coffee table.

"We could, but there are 50 states in America and we can't exactly narrow it down to a certain witch because we don't know which one could help." Hope ran her fingers through her hair before her eyes narrowed on the map.

"Or we could just look for the most powerful witch lineage, find the descendant and they would probably know."

"If they refuse to help or try to hurt you?" Sophie asked with a glare causing Hope to roll her eyes.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Sophie continued to glare at her. "Ok. How about we don't tell them who I am, ask them for advice on what's happening and if we can trust them, tell them the truth." Sophie's lips curved up.

"You're diabolical."

"I get it from my dad." Sophie rolled her eyes at the blonde before grabbing a book from the bottom of a stack.

"It's full of witch legacy and history, but the most powerful lineage that I know of is the Bennett line." Hope looked at the page to which Sophie had opened the book at.

" _The Bennett bloodline is a matriarchy of powerful witches descended from the first immortal being, Questsiyah who created the Other Side. Their lineage has continued for more than 2000 years._ 2000 years? They must have hell of a lot of power." Hope said as she read the passage. "We have to find a descendant, couldn't we just do a locator spell." Sophie glanced at Hope and then back down to the book.

"We could try, I don't have anything of them so it might not even work." Hope pushed the book away and pulled the map closer.

"It's a chance, the sooner we find her, the sooner I get answers. What do you need?"

"Some salt and 8 candles." Hope ran out of the room into the kitchen grabbing the things they needed and rushed back letting Sophie trail the salt into a circle surrounding the map whilst placing the candles on the salt at equal distance from each other.

"Ready?" Sophie said as she looked up at Hope who nodded slowly. The brunette clicked her fingers lighting the candles and closed her eyes as she held her hands over the map and began murmuring. " _We du le mon ennemi on ton. We du le mon ennemi on ton_ " the salt grains began moving towards the center of the map gathering in Kansas before it slowly trailed through Missouri, Kentucky before finally spotting at the edge of South Carolina. Just as Sophie began moving her hands back she gasped and clenched her eyes firmly shut.

"Soph?" Hope whispered as she watched the brunette begin panting. "Sophie?" Her eyes kept flickering in different directions under her eyelids as if she was watching something, Hope observed her intently waiting for her to stop as she didn't know what to do. Just as Hope reached out her hand to Sophie, the witch gasped and her eyes flashed open as the flames of the candles died out.

"Bonnie Bennett." Sophie whispered as she came back to reality and locked her eyes onto Hope. "Her name is Bonnie Bennett and…" they both looked down at the map to see where the salt had gathered, "…she's in Charleston."

Hope felt a sudden warmth fill her stomach at the name 'Bonnie Bennett', this woman could help her and figure out what the hell was wrong with her. "I need to go to her." Hope attempted to get up but was stopped as Sophie's hand clasped onto her wrist.

'Not on your own, we need to tell Klaus, he'll want to know." Hope shook her head.

"If she's as powerful as you say she is then she won't help us. Witches are brought to hate vampires, Sophie, you know that. If you tell him he'll barge in there all guns blazing and I can't let that happen especially if this 'Bonnie Bennett' is the last definite person who could help me. I need to do this. On my own." Hope pulled her arm away from Sophie's grasp.

"No." Hope locked eyes on her and saw the guarded look the brunette had. "You can't do this on your own. I won't let you." Hope took in a deep breath and glanced to the side before looking back at her.

"I'm sorry Sophie, but you really can't stop me." Sophie shook her head and got up moving towards her phone which lay on the desk as Hope followed her, grabbed her arm and spun her round.

"Hope!" Sophie's eyes were wide as she looked at the girl before her whose eyes were ablaze with fire.

'Forgive me." Hope grasped Sophie's temples between her hands and closed her eyes digging through the witch's memories. "You will forget locating Bonnie Bennett, I came here and you allowed me to look through some grimoires before we watched 'The Notebook' and went to sleep." Hope pulled away slowly watching Sophie's eyes flutter open as she regained her senses and let out a lazy smile before yawning.

"We should really go to sleep now, Hope." Hope smiled softly suppressing the guilt.

"Yeah, we should…

 **So...how was it?**

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, Caroline will be making her appearance in the next chapter along with a few of our favourite characters.**

 **Since this is my first story in which Hope is included in a much more direct way, I wanted to get some things clear before people try to judge Hope and the way I've portrayed her:**

 **Hope may seem like a really bratty character right now but the way I intend for her to come across as is a very isolated child who has been stopped from doing things normal teenagers would do like go to school and socialise. In my head her life revolves around the way her character is suppressed due to who her family members are and the fact that she is upheld to be such a vital person in New Orleans.**

 **Even through what I've heard about the way TO is going, Hope Mikaelson is deemed to be a really important and one-of-a-kind person who is even more powerful than her father but what everyone seems to be forgetting is that she is still a normal girl yet she isn't growing up in a fitting environment. I'm going to explore this through her relationship with Caroline and the way they bond.**

 **I hope I've cleared that up a bit and because I'm really excited about the concept of this story I'm going to give away a few hints/spoilers:**

 **-Kol is alive, everyone breathe a sigh of relief, he will be on Caroline's end of things.**

 **-Kol's character will develop and we'll see some friction between him and the other Mikaelsons.**

 **-Kol was not, I repeat NOT, brought back by his siblings.**

 **-Katherine is included**

 **-The Mystic Falls gang's version of events of what occurred in their little town just before Caroline left may be different to Caroline's. Who do you suppose will be telling the truth?**

 **-Klaus will find himself at odds once he reunites with Caroline and sees the way in which she runs things. Their styles are very different, who do you think is part of a much closer knit community and who feels a spark of jealousy at this?**

 **-Caroline is withholding a big secret and no it is _not_ a secret Klaroline baby though I do love the idea of a Klaroline baby it won't be happening in this story.**

 **I hope that's enough to tide you over until the next update.**

 **See you very soon... :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much Peefrimgar, lilycantu, Hellzz-on-Earth, gossipgirly223 and Guest (28/10/15) for your thoughts and reviews.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter and don't forget to tell me what you think :D

 _ **Next day…**_

"No, definitely not."

'But dad-"Klaus looked back down to the unfinished sketch in his hand which he resumed to complete.

"You're not going. End of." Hope painted an innocent smile on her face before moving closer.

"But, _dad,_ it's just a trip to get a grimoire, not a space expedition. I just want to go with Sophie not plan the 'great escape'. Come on, _please._ " Klaus looked up at his daughter who wore a 'puppy' look as she fluttered her eyes. "It's _Sophie_ , we both know that she's capable of keeping me safe, you've trusted her with much more before, how is this any different?" Klaus placed his sketch book to the side before glancing at Sophie who stood at the doorway with a suitcase.

"A grimoire?" Sophie nodded.

"Yeah, I think it might have some answers." Klaus stood from his seat as his siblings watched with Marcel and Davina.

"And why haven't you mentioned this before?"

"My cousin and I've been estranged for a long time so I didn't get the chance to ask her about the grimoire." Klaus' jaw tightened as he took a deep breath before glaring at Sophie.

"So you've allowed my daughter to continue to suffer because you were _estranged_ from someone who could have fixed all of this?" His voice grew louder vibrating throughout the mansion. "You _knew_ that we could have gotten answers sooner but you chose not to. How do you expect me to trust you with her when you were so _careless_ with getting information?" He growled out as he moved closer to Sophie. Hope could tell by his tone that he was spectacularly unhappy, something which usually led to someone's death but she wasn't allowing him to hurt Sophie, not when she was so important in this plan.

"Dad, she's figured it out now, we can get the grimoire and find some answers." Klaus continued to glare at Sophie who looked away from his gaze. "Look, the longer we stand here, the longer it takes to get some answers. We'll be back in a week."

"A week?" Sophie shrugged.

"Yeah well, my cousin's a hoarder so we'll be lucky if we find it."

"If we don't we'll come back in the week. Promise." Klaus looked at his daughter feeling the urge to say no and only allow Sophie to go but he was reminded of what his daughter had said to him yesterday, " _isn't it enough that I can't go out of this house without having someone come with me"._ Hope going with Sophie was better than Hope running away on her own, if he let her go now then she'd drop the notion of distancing herself from her life in New Orleans.

"Ok." Hope grinned and threw herself into her father's arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Klaus pulled her away to look at her.

"But…you call me every 2 hours each day. On the dot and if you miss by a minute then-"

"I know, I know. Every 2 hours, on the dot. I promise." Hope smiled up at him.

"Go pack your bags-"His voice trailed off as his daughter looked sheepishly at him before glancing at the door. "You're already packed, aren't you?" He said in an exasperated tone.

"Maybe." She said with a wince, he rolled his eyes at her before nodding and stepping back.

"If you're in any trouble-"

"Run, don't look back and call you." Klaus smiled at the instructions that she had memorised from each time he had repeated them to her. "I know." She skipped over to Sophie and grabbed her suitcase from behind the wall to which Klaus cocked his eyebrow which Hope noticed. "I'm a girl, dad. Even if I'm just going for a week it means multiple outfits consisting of shoes, shirts, trousers-"Klaus waved his hand at her to which she smirked.

"I get it, lots and _lots_ of clothing."

"She gets that from me." Rebekah said proudly as she hugged her niece. Klaus scoffed.

"Good thing that that's the only thing she gets from you." Rebekah scowled at him as he smirked at her. Klaus strode towards the table in the corner of the room before turning and throwing some keys towards Hope, "Here, take my car. Don't scratch it." Hope grinned at her father. "But Sophie will be driving." Hope was about to protest but her father silenced her with one simple look.

"Be careful, Hope. Don't get into any trouble." Elijah said as he embraced her which Hope returned. "Sophie, if anything happens-"

"It won't, we'll be fine." Hope said in a confident tone as she pulled away and gave her family one last look before walking back to Sophie who was standing by the open door. She followed her out to the car just as Klaus flashed out and opened the door for her and she got in pulling the seatbelt across her body. "Thanks, dad." He smiled at her which she returned before sighing and hugging him one more time. "I'll be back soon." She whispered into his ear as her father tightened his hold on her before releasing and stepping back to close the door.

"Stay safe."

"I will. I love you, dad." Klaus' chest tightened as he heard her words and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips mirroring Hope's smile. "Don't miss me too much." Klaus rolled his eyes at her, a habit which he had picked up from his daughter.

"Impossible." He murmured as the car pulled away from the driveway and Klaus stood watching it disappear from his sight before walking back inside. He felt an ache in his chest as he entered the house which seemed desolate now without his daughter's presence.

"She'll be fine, don't worry so much." His sister said as she paid her hand on his arm, he gave her a tight smile before nodding.

"I know." He grabbed his jacket before walking back out of the door. "I'll be at Rousseau's." Rebekah rolled her eyes at his back.

"As if you don't have anything better to do." She said sarcastically knowing that he had heard her before he flashed away into the French Quarter.

"Don't bait him sister." Elijah said as he sat in the armchair reading a newspaper of current affairs without lifting his head. Rebekah rolled her eyes at him before sighing and following her brother's footsteps out of the house. "Don't slam the-"He closed his eyes as Rebekah slammed the door, "-door." Elijah leaned back in his seat and flicked the page as he continued to read.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later…**_

"How much longer?" Hope asked impatiently as she looked at the blistering sun high in the sky, she tapped her fingers on her thigh nervously as she swallowed back her nerves at what she was about to do.

"We're nearly there, just a few more minutes." Sophie headed down a suburban street before parking in front of a family house.

"You did call ahead, right?" Sophie nodded as she eyed the building in front of her.

"We should phone my dad, tell him we've arrived safely." Hope suggested, putting the phone to her ear she waited until her father picked up the phone by the second ring.

" _Hope, are you safe?"_ Hope rolled her eyes at the question.

"What? No hello or how was the drive?" She said with a smirk knowing that it would annoy him.

" _Hope…"_ He drawled out her name in a tense voice.

"Chill dad, I'm fine, we're both fine, I'm just calling to tell you we've arrived I'll call you later though cause I'm feeling a little tired, I didn't realise you could get jet lag from driving." Hope said trying to sound convincing whilst Sophie frowned at the obvious excuse.

" _I can come dow-"_

"Dad! Look, I'm fine, just a bit tired. So it'll probably be a couple of hours till I call next after unpacking. But I've got to go, we're just about to go in now."

" _Are you sure?"_

"Yes, I'm certain."

" _Fine."_

"Ok, bye dad, love you."

" _You too, Hope."_ Hope ended the call and sighed before turning to Sophie who had her eyebrow raised condescendingly before glancing up at the house they had stopped at.

Hope bit her lip and twisted her body to Sophie. "Hey Soph?" Sophie's eyes broke away from the house and looked at Hope who took in a deep breath. "I'm really sorry." She murmured before reaching out and grasping Sophie's head between her hands. "You'll go inside and get to know your cousin without disclosing any information about me. If my family call to ask about me, you'll make up a plausible excuse that I'm busy. If anyone living here asks about me, you will tell them that I'm back home." Hope pulled back her hands slowly as Sophie's eyes fluttered open.

"Thank you for dropping me off, Hope. I'll seen you soon." Sophie gave her a blinding smile before getting out of the car and grabbing her bag. Hope got out from the passenger seat to be hugged by Sophie who then skipped up the stairs to knock on the door whilst Hope went round to the driver's side and got in starting the car.

The door opened to reveal a pale skinned woman wearing a summer dress with straight chestnut hair matching her dark brown eyes which lit up by joy as she saw the woman before her. "Sophie, I've missed you." The woman hugged her tightly which Sophie reciprocated before being pulled into the house.

"You too, Marissa." Hope smiled at the reunion before revving the car which gained their attention, Sophie waved at her as Hope did the same and pulled away from the kerb as the door closed, the blonde turned up the music and let it blast out as she sped away in the direction of Bonnie Bennett.

* * *

 _ **Charleston…**_

Caroline stood on the balcony watching the city bustling with people below her, the air breezed through the streets accompanying the murmur of tourists and those who lived there. Her eyes caught onto the street performers who had set up telling their stories through their performances as they wowed passer-by's who were drawn to them.

"We're going to get a hell of a lot of tourists coming in now, Care." Caroline smiled at the voice behind her which came closer to stand beside her to watch the city.

"Of course we are, remember last year, the Spoleto festival isn't considered America's major performance art festival for nothing." The sound of violins began floating in the air to be accompanied a group of ballerinas who danced their way across the cobbled streets. Cheering and applause rang in the air as gymnasts sprang to life and criss-crossed the adjacent street as a statue at the centre of it came to life and began body-popping scaring a few tourists before they laughed at him. Caroline looked to her side and raised her eyebrow at the crimson skater dress her best friend wore. "Are you doing on a date, Bon?"

Bonnie blushed and tried to hide her smile but failed miserably. "Maybe." She murmured letting her straight hair fall forward to hide her face as she heard Caroline's gasp.

"You are," Caroline turned fully towards her, "And why didn't you tell me, I'm your best friend I thought we had no secrets?" Bonnie shook her head and tilted up her chin in a defiant manner.

"It's _not_ a date-"Caroline scoffed interrupting her.

"No, it's definitely not," she said sarcastically, "especially when you're wearing your Jovani dress, black Louboutins with…" Caroline gasped as her eyes fell on the brunette's lips, "…you're wearing your _Chanel Rouge Coco_ lip-gloss." The blonde murmured breathlessly as she eyed her friend before grinning like a complete fool. "Ooooh, you're in _love."_ Bonnie rolled her eyes before stepping away from the balcony and leaving Caroline's room with the blonde hot on her heels. "Who is it?" Bonnie ignored her and stepped down the curved staircase reaching the floor picking up a clutch bag and leather jacket that fit her curves. "Oh come on, please tell me." Caroline begged as she flashed in front of her. Bonnie looked unimpressed at her move.

"One, it's _not_ a date and two, I'm not in love. It's just a drink with a friend, now if you'd please move." Bonnie said but Caroline didn't move except for cross her arms across her chest and stare at her friend. They entered a staring competition which lasted for a couple of seconds before there was a knock on the mansion door causing Caroline' eyes to widen momentarily before she smirked and flashed to the door opening it.

"You've got to be kidding me." Caroline said in an exasperated tone before straightening her back as she connected the dots and looked at Bonnie. "Seriously?" She murmured as the brunette man stepped across the threshold of the mansion with a smirk

"Hello to you too, darling." He said as he glanced at Caroline before his eyes settled on Bonnie and his lips parted. "You look…."

" _Him, again_?" Caroline asked in an unimpressed manner as she pointed at Kol just as another figure stepped out of the kitchen. "Did you know about this?" The girl looked between the three of them before her eyes fell on Bonnie and she cocked up her eyebrow whilst circling the brunette.

"Well someone's getting some tonight." She winked at Kol whose smirk widened. "And, yes, I did know." She leaned against the banister.

"Katherine knew? And you didn't tell me?" Caroline said earning a wince from Bonnie.

"Well, I didn't tell her-"

"I saw them devouring each other's mouths, not a pretty sight, they were going at it like-"

"We get it." Bonnie interrupted her before approaching Caroline. "Look, I was going to tell you, it's just we wanted to keep this a secret."

'How long has this being going on?" Caroline said as she waved her hand at Kol and her friend.

"Since before we moved here." She murmured as she looked down.

"But I thought you two were…just friends no wait, frenemies, how-when wait…' _before we moved here'_ so when you were the anchor?" Caroline hesitated to guess as Bonnie nodded slowly.

"He just tagged along like a dog at the beginning, not leaving me-"

"I resent that!" Kol snapped but the girls ignored him.

"-then a few years ago it became official." Bonnie murmured.

" _A few years_! This has been going on for _years_ , how have I not noticed?" Katherine's jaw dropped and she flashed beside Caroline.

"13 actually." Kol interrupted earning a glare from Bonnie.

"13 damn years!" Katherine stepped closer and smirked. "That's what you were doing when you were travelling before you came here, or should I say that's _who_ you were doing." Katherine narrowed her eyes at Kol who was watching the scene play out.

"Yes, fine." Bonnie gritted out before sighing, "We've been dating, for the lack of a better term, for 13 years." Caroline's brow quirked as she pursed her lips.

"I thought you two just had witchy dates not _date-dates."_ She muttered, "13 years…that's a very long time." She narrowed her eyes at them as Kol came to stand beside Bonnie, "Have you seen other people or has it always been…" she gestured between them. Neither answered as they glanced at each other.

"We've had breaks but never seen other people, unless Kol-"

"No. No other people." Kol said resolutely.

"You're practically married." Caroline grimaced whispering to herself causing Bonnie and Kol's eyes to widen as they heard her. "13 years, that's lace in anniversaries, chrysanthemum in flowers and Citrine in gemstone." She looked up to see the furrowed brows of the people before her, she shrugged her shoulders, "What? It's common knowledge." She said before she shook her head and brought herself back to the situation at hand. "Wait, you're married and I wasn't invited?" Bonnie and Kol shook their heads enthusiastically.

"Not married." They both said simultaneously. Katherine scoffed and gave them a condescending look.

" _Puh-lease,_ you've been _dating_ for 13 years, if that's not marriage then I don't know what is." Bonnie clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes before grasping Kol's hand and barging past Caroline and Katherine.

"We're going now, I'll be back soon and I don't want to hear any stupid jokes when I do." Bonnie shouted over her shoulder as she led Kol away.

"There goes the bride and groom." Katherine said with a smirk as Caroline shut the door and leaned against it before she looked at Katherine before they both began giggling uncontrollably.

"13 years" Caroline said in an unbelievable tone as she went into the main room and grabbed her phone which had been ringing. "Hello?"

" _Hey Caroline, we need you to come down to the Creek."_

"I'll be there, give me 5 minutes." Caroline hung up her phone.

"Off to do some Queenly duties?" Katherine asked with a proud look on her face to which Caroline rolled her eyes before she flashed up the stairs changing from her summer dress to black skinny jeans and leather jacket. She came down the stairs and gave Katherine a look as she appraised the blonde's style.

'You coming?"

"Walking straight into the wolf's den." She shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "Sure, why not." She smirked and joined the blonde as they left the mansion.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile**_

Hope drove through the cobbled streets encountering numerous crowds of people which she had to blow her horn at to get past, letting out and exasperated sigh she parked the car on the kerb before walking through the bustle of people who passed her. Jazz music surrounded her as she stepped into the heart of the city, her eyes were drawn up to the balconies of the houses that lined the street and were decorated with flowers as well as had lanterns hanging from them. Hope smiled as she saw a street magician shuffling cards at his stand before he did a classic card trick conning a few tourists of their money, Hope shook her head before she turned onto King Street, her eyes widened at the sight before her.

There were street performers everywhere she looked, dancers, mimes, saxophonists, people singing in perfect harmony. It reminded her of the French Quarter but this seemed so much friendlier as if the city was built as a stage for the arts.

"Sorry." Hope said as she made her way through the crowd which was gathered in front of two women who were eyeing each other with smirks on their faces as if they knew a secret that the crowd didn't, Hope gasped at what happened next, the women glanced at the people surrounding them before the one with red hair lifted her hand, palm up, and made a ball of ice blue light appear in her hand, it swirled as if it was water before she flicked her hand it went hurtling to the ginger haired woman who flicked her hand and a trial of orange-red swirling light trailed from her fingertips towards the ball penetrating the centre of it and making it explode into tiny green sparkled which showered the audience. "Oh my god." Hope whispered as she watched the crowd applaud and whistle loudly at the women who continued their moves emitting different coloured lights form their hands, Hope backed away slowly, she may not be able to perform magic to the best of her ability but she could definitely recognise it when she saw it.

"How the hell do they do that?" She heard a woman, a tourist, say to a man who seemed to be her husband, he shook his head with a smile.

"Something to do with the lighting, they probably have holograms set up for this kind of thing." He said resolutely before pulling her away from the scene. Hope turned and moved away from them only to run into another show which consisted of two groups made of 4 people, each side eyed the other as if it was a competition before one girl gave the others a wink and blew out a soft breath of air just as a bright red dragon appeared in the middle of the ground and roared at the opponents who backed away with impressed looks. It flittered in the wind before a green eyed man tilted his head and gazed at the woman when a metallic green snake appeared on the cobbles and whipped its tail at the dragon cutting it in half and allowing it to die down then dissipate.

"You've got to be kidding me." She whispered before her lips curved up into a grin and she began giggling to herself. Hope backed away from them again and moved further down the street to see more magic taking place, a man blowing out a purple vapour that shaped itself into a lotus flower, a little girl who seemed to be folding paper into a small bird before compressing it in her hands then opening them up to allow a pure white dove to escape her fingers. Hope shook her head in disbelief as she took in the sights, her eyes trailed over a group of dancers further down the street who were in perfect synchronization, a man covered in white paint as if he was a statue moving gracefully on a small stage as he twirled on the spot and kicked out his legs in splits. Hope stilled in the middle of the street and turned in circles as she absorbed everything before she heard a horse behind her, she twisted round to see a horse drawn carriage approaching her, she stepped to the side and watched the carriage move past her with tourists in it as the guide explained the area.

"This is King Street, otherwise known as the witch quarter by many people, as you can see it's quite obvious as to why it's been named as that." The tourist chuckled as they looked around and gasped in awe to their surroundings, "On your left you'll see St Matthew's Lutheran church in the distance which is located in the far side of the city otherwise known as the dark side…a little hint ladies and gentlemen, that side is where the living get easily lost and the dead stick around to play." The man chuckled as he pointed it out to the others. Hope backed further away before turning to see a small bar in front of her. Glancing around she steeled her resolve and strode into the bar which was quiet yet full of life. Her eyes scanned the area and she picked up a tingling sensation which reverberated throughout her fingers, moving closer she sat at the bar looking around observing her surroundings.

"I haven't seen you around here before." Hope's attention snapped to the voice and she looked up to see a guy with short black curls and light blue eyes looking at her with a smile. Hope came out of her reverie as she summoned up the courage to speak.

"Yeah, just visiting." She smiled at him.

"What can I get you?" Hope's eyes widened as she looked over his shoulder to the bottles of tequila and vodka, he followed her gaze and smirked before raising his eyebrows. "Eyeing the tough stuff? I think you're a bit underage for that. How about a coke?" He got a can from beneath the bar and slid it across to her as Hope narrowed her eyes at him.

"How do you know that I'm underage, I could be 20 for all you know." She said confidently earning a chuckle from him.

"Fine, can I see your ID?" He said as he leaned in, Hope's smile faltered and glanced to her side making sure there was no one sitting beside her before she locked her eyes on his, before she could compel him, she felt another sizzle as her fingertips brushed his, she broke off the contact as she realised the mistake she was about to make.

"You know what, its fine." She moved back and took the can from him before opening it up and taking a sip calming her nerves as she looked over her shoulder and scanned the people at tables. The sensation grew in the tips of fingers as another group of people entered the bar.

She'd felt it twice before, once, when she had met the French Quarter coven and the second time when she had gone to Layfette cemetery with Davina. It was witch grounds, just like this place, and the majority of the people in here had magic. _Guess it's true that this is the witch quarter. It's the best place to start looking for a Bennett witch._ Hope cleared her throat gaining the attention of the bartender who had served her.

"Um, I was wondering if you could help me." She said quietly, he tilted his head before moving closer to her. "Like I said before, I'm just visiting and looking for someone." He nodded following her story. "Do you know Bonnie Bennett?" Hope saw his eyes narrow as he looked at her.

"Depends who's asking?"

"Hope." He cocked his eyebrow.

"Hope what?" Hope stilled, _damn don't say Mikaelson, not Mikaelson._

"Hope Devereux." She blurted out hoping that her eyes didn't give anything away but he smirked at her.

"Well, Hope _Devereux_ , wanna tell me why you're looking for Bonnie Bennett?" He asked in a resolute yet teasing tone to which she lifted her chin at.

"Depends who's asking?" He grinned at her before holding out his hand.

"Jake LaRue, pleased to meet you." She shook his hand as the tingling sensation came to live in her fingers and spread through her veins as they made contact.

"Yeah, you too and it's none of your business as to why I'm looking for her. I've answered your question, now you can answer mine. Where can I find her?" She pulled her hand away quickly which Jake noticed. His smirk dropped and he leaned back before scanning the bar and then looking back at Hope.

"You're most likely to find her in the _Coeur Citadelle_." Hope pursed her lips and held his eyes in a stare as he sighed knowing what she wanted to know, "If you keep heading down this street, take the first left then first right, continue on down and you'll see a big house right at the end at the heart of the town."

"She lives there?" Hope asked out loud wondering why the girl didn't live with the witches. Jake nodded.

"Sometimes, it's usually where she stays with the Queen, they're pretty close and another friend of theirs." Hope's brow furrowed.

"The Queen?" Jake let out a breathy chuckle.

"Yep, the Queen, but she doesn't like it when you call her that so just keep it simple." Hope leaned back in her seat and let out a puff of air. "What's wrong, feeling scared of meeting her highness?" He teased her as he wiped a glass with a tea towel.

"Of course not." She spared a glance back at him, "What's this 'Queen' like?"

"Oh come on, we wouldn't want to ruin your first experience at meeting her." Jake saw her bite her lip in nervousness and placed the glass back on the bar. "Calm down, she's nice, trust me." Hope scoffed.

"You're a stranger, I'm not supposed to trust strangers." Jake chuckled.

"We know each other's names, that doesn't make us strangers anymore, so yes, you can trust me." Jake said with a smile before a customer called him over. "Duty calls, it was nice meeting you Hope even if you do seem a bit of a mystery." He smirked at her before moving across the bar.

"You don't even know half of it." She murmured under her breath before getting up from her seat and leaving the bar to follow the directions that Jake had given her.

"I'll be right with you." Jake said as he moved into the back and got out his phone and waiting for his call to be answered, after a couple of seconds and no answer, he hung and dialled someone else.

" _Jake?"_

"Hey Care, we've got a newcomer and she's looking for Bonnie, I tried phoning her but she isn't picking up."

" _Who is it?"_ Jake looked out to the bar and watched as Hope walked past the window.

"She said her name was Hope Devereux."

" _But you don't believe her."_

"Not her last name, no. She said she was visiting but she was looking specifically for Bonnie, don't you find that a little suspicious? But I sent her down to the Citadel for you to meet"

" _I'll figure it out, thanks Jake."_

"See you later, Care, bye." He hung up before going out to the front of the bar. "Right.' He clapped his hands together and painted a smile across his lips, "Whose next?"

* * *

 _ **Middleton Palace**_

"Hey, Jessie, what's up?" Caroline asked as she walked across the gravel path with Katherine, Jessie, a pale skinned man with cropped light brown hair and hazel eyes sat on the steps of the house with his arms balancing on his knees and hands clasped together. He got up as the women got closer and let out a hesitant smile but Caroline and Katherine could see the grimness in his shallow eyes.

"Hey Care, Katherine." He said in a low tone with the usual hiss to Katherine's name missing. He placed his hands in his pockets as they came up the steps.

"What's wrong, wolfy, someone stole your chew toy?" Katherine asked with a smirk which faltered as Jessie didn't reply instead just shook his head.

"He's dying." He whispered without a crack through his voice. Caroline looked at him confused before placing her hand on his arm, he looked up again. "Abel. He's dying." Caroline's jaw dropped and she pulled him into a comforting hug which he absorbed fully.

"What happened?" He let out a mirthless chuckle before pulling back.

"Nature, that's what. He's dying of old age." Caroline swallowed back the lump in her throat and squeezed his arm.

"Where is he?" Katherine asked feeling tense in her stomach, she'd grown to like Abel, he was the father she'd never had. Sure there was tension between her and the wolves when she first came to town and had accompanied Caroline on one of the visits, her personality clashed with his but they both came to a quick understanding that there was enough room for both of their egos.

"Inside, some of the pack is in there as well, Isabella is with him constantly," he led them through the doors into the quiet plantation which was surrounded by acres of forest, "we tried to get her to move but she keeps refusing." Members of the pack, mainly the men and a few women, were waiting for them, Caroline gave them a slight nod in passing as Jessie led them up the stairs to the main bedroom. "He wants to be moved back to the cabins in the Creek, he seems to think that this is too _unnatural."_

"And rightly so, have you seen the lighting in here, atrocious." A hoarse tenor voice spoke out gaining their attention. "I much prefer the natural lighting rather than this fake fluorescent garbage." He coughed loudly whilst Isabella, a grey haired woman sat at his bedside smoothing his shoulder length, grey hair back.

"Abel…" Caroline whispered as she moved closer whilst he attempted to smile at her through the pain and get up but was pushed back by Isabella.

"Don't move." She said quietly as she took her husband's hand squeezing it firmly. "Hi Caroline." Isabella said giving the girl a smile.

"Hey Bella," Abel tried to get up again, causing Caroline to rush to his side and hold his hand, "keep still Abel." He chuckled lowly with a slight cough as he laid back and smirked.

"Would you look at that, two beautiful women at my side, where's the third angel?" He looked to the side and spotted Katherine leaning against the door.

"Oh, we both know I'm no angel." Her voice trailed off as she moved closer and sat next to Caroline on his bed.

"How right you are." He murmured before turning away and coughing again. "Such a good way to go, angels by my side." He said quietly as he shut his eyes for a few seconds before taking in a deep breath and opening them again. "How's the city?" He asked hoarsely.

"It's fine, don't worry." He chuckled.

"How can I not worry when I'm on the other side of the town not knowing what's going on with the factions or my pack." His voice broke but he regained his resolute tone.

"Don't worry about that, you old man, we're right here and nothing's going to happen, just focus on here," Isabella murmured teasingly as she pulled up his hand to her mouth and pressed her lips to the back of it, "right here, right now." He opened his hand and placed it against her cheek rubbing his thumb over the apple of her cheek brushing away the stray tear that escaped her eye.

"Don't cry, please, don't cry, Cherie." Caroline and Katherine watched Isabella come back from the brink of an emotional breakdown as she swallowed back her tears and smiled at him brightly.

"Never." She kissed the palm of his hand and looked up at Caroline.

"Why didn't you call me sooner?" Caroline asked as she rubbed circles on the back of his hand, Abel sighed.

"You've got so much going on, this wasn't important." Caroline's jaw dropped, and she squeezed his hand tighter.

"Don't you dare." She said resolutely, "Don't you dare think that you're not important, you're one of the most important people to me and I'm not going to let you go because you don't believe you're worth it. You are everything to me." He chuckled at her.

"You have quite the way of words for a dying man, my dear." Caroline couldn't help but smile at his teasing words.

"And don't you forget it." Caroline cleared her throat before looking over her shoulder to Jessie. "First things first, we're taking you back to the bayou, where you want to be." She smiled at Abel who nodded thankfully.

"There's still the problem of the next alpha." Jessie said quietly. Abel took another deep breath before speaking.

"I want you to be next." He breathed out as he turned to look at Jessie whose eyes widened and he stepped back. "You will be the next alpha, you're like my son." Jessie shook his head with tears clear in his eyes.

"I can't-"Jessie stuttered as he approached Abel.

'You will." He returned commandingly locking his eyes on the man who swallowed back his fear and moved closer.

"Are you certain?" Abel nodded.

"You _are_ my next in line, regardless of whether you share my bloodline or not. You are my son." He said with a gasp as he clutched his chest tightly. "You will be the next alpha, you will keep the pack safe and you will be magnificent." Jessie sniffled as he kneeled between Katherine and Caroline. The blonde released the alpha's hand so that he could take Jessie's. "Take me to the Creek, son." He said as he took his hand.

Jessie yelled out for the others to come up as Abel sat up with his help, a few men came up and bowed their heads in respect before helping their alpha up. Caroline and Katherine stepped back from them as Abel got up and was taken down the stairs before sitting in a wheelchair as he coughed grasping his chest. Isabella remained by his side constantly holding his hand as Jessie led the way outside.

The pack members followed them as they made their way to the creek in the forest that consisted of several cabins for the pack, Caroline and Katherine followed at the back of the crowd understanding that what was happening now was just for the wolves, their Alpha was being brought back home and he was dying, it was a time of welcome and mourning as the next few days would probably be his last.

Caroline picked up her ringing phone as she distanced herself further from the pack so their actions weren't interrupted, she looked down at her phone to see that it was one of the warlocks from the witch quarter calling.

"Jake?"

" _Hey Care, we've got a newcomer and she's looking for Bonnie, I tried phoning her but she isn't picking up."_ Katherine's eyes snapped to Caroline as she heard Bonnie's name being mentioned.

"Who is it?" Caroline asked keeping her voice down in respect to the others.

" _She said her name was Hope Devereux."_ Katherine's brow furrowed, she'd heard of the name 'Devereux' before.

"But you don't believe her."

" _Not her last name, no. She said she was visiting but she was looking specifically for Bonnie, don't you find that a little suspicious? I sent her down to the Citadel for you to meet."_ Caroline felt her instincts sharpen, the voice in the back of her mind agreed with him but she didn't want to seem paranoid as they hadn't had any trouble in the city for the past few years.

"I'll figure it out, thanks Jake."

" _See you later, Care, bye."_ Caroline hung up and her eyes met Katherine's who seemed well guarded all of a sudden.

"Kat?" She shook her head and mouthed 'later' as they entered the creek to be welcomed by the other pack members who had remained behind. The children who were playing came to a slow stop as their parents pulled them to the side to show respect by bowing their heads and creating a path for their alphas to move to the middle cabin which was theirs. Abel smiled at each and every one of them as they moved aside, as they reached the steps of the cabin he halted the wheelchair suddenly causing the men around him to reach out to help him up but he waved them back. His wife, Isabella, kept hold of his hand as he took a deep breath and pushed himself up staggering a bit before being balance by his other half.

"Careful, my love." She whispered as she held him close causing him to chuckle.

"Always so bossy." He murmured earning a smile form her, he wrapped his arm around her waist as she held him before they moved up the stairs together taking their time. The pack remained quiet as their alphas moved, at the top Abel turned back around and addressed his family. "Call the other packs, I will be handing my reign to the next alpha in the next few days." His eyes lingered over Caroline and Katherine before giving them a smile and turning to enter the cabin with Isabella shutting the door behind them.

"I guess its happening." Jessie said beside them quietly as the pack began murmuring and moving back to what they were doing before.

"He's a strong man, but it's inevitable." Katherine whispered only allowing Jessie and Caroline to hear her words, the former nodded in agreement before Katherine stepped back and gestured for Caroline to follow her.

"We'll be back tomorrow morning, ok?"

"See you then." Jessie said hugging them both before moving back to the cabins whilst the two vampires made their way out of the creek and back to the car. Katherine was biting her lip which was very unusual for her, Caroline had only seen her do it when she was extremely nervous or if she was thinking about something that worried her.

"Ok, spill." The blonde said, Katherine glanced up at her, "You know something that I don't, what is it?"

"That girl, the one looking for Bonnie."

"Hope Devereux?" Katherine shook her head.

"Devereux, I've heard that name before." Caroline tilted her head trying to remember it herself with no luck. "It was a long time ago, when you were still in Mystic Falls." The blonde's brow furrowed in confusion as she didn't recall hearing that name there either.

"What about it?" Katherine sighed.

"Devereux is a line of witches. They practise ancestral magic." Katherine said as they got closer to the car.

"And? What about them?" Katherine bit her lip again before gesturing for Caroline to get into the car before speaking again. "Kat." She looked up, "what's so important about them?"

"I only know about two Devereux witches, Sophie Devereux and Jane-Ann Devereux." Caroline cocked up her eyebrow waiting for more information.

"Katherine, seriously, get to the point."

"Like I said, they practise ancestral magic…in New Orleans." Caroline's eyes widened and her lips parted. "If she is a Devereux witch, then she has no business being here, their magic only works in New Orleans. Unless, she needs something desperately and came into a city with no protection." Caroline leaned back in her seat and stared out to the blue sky. She hadn't heard of that city in years, but she never forgot about it. She never forgot the man behind that city. Or the truth he had omitted from her 17 years ago, a truth that had hurt her so damn much even though it shouldn't have.

"Care?" Katherine asked quietly nibbling at her lip. Caroline took a slow steady breath before putting the car in a sudden gear and driving away from the creek to the heart of the city.

"Whoever she is, I want to know why she's here." Caroline shut off the part of her which cared about him, hell she couldn't even think his name–she hadn't uttered it since graduation. "And if she's a threat then I will get rid of her." She said with a tight confidence she forced herself to believe.

"Let's just hope this doesn't bring up anyone else we know from down there..."

 **So…how was it?**

 **We've finally seen a glimpse of what Caroline is like and how she acts, I want her to be a strong character who puts up with no bullshit and you'll see her reasoning for this in future chapters since it all spans from her experiences. You'll also realise that once Hope and Caroline meet the latter will act as a sort of 'mentor' to Hope.**

 **Spoilers:**

 **-Hope and Caroline finally meet.**

 **-I've brought in another familiar character and some OC characters but don't be put off, the first half of this story revolves around Hope's bond with Caroline growing whilst the other half will deal with Klaus finding out about their interactions.**

 **-Hellzz-on-Earth your hopes may come true: Hope will learn quite a lot from Caroline.**

 **-Hope will find herself stuck in a moral dilemma, should she tell the truth or lie for her own safety? (Future chapter reference.)**

 **-Kol was dead, whilst he was on the other side he heard of Hope's birth but he has never, let me repeat** _ **never,**_ **had any contact with her before.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! It's been a while, I'm truly sorry from the bottom of my heart for the absence I'm in the middle of mock exams and A-level Maths is screwing up my life (sighs dramatically) but I hope you enjoy this chapter**

 **McAliceKatePotterGHShield: Bonnie isn't aging in appearance since she's taking herbs at the moment.**

 **Guest (29/10/15) -** _This is surprisingly really good! I just started reading this and it's amazing! Can't wait for klaroline interaction and btw how did Caroline become a queen and anticipating to read the bonding you mentioned between hope and Caroline! Love that you write long chapters. Update quick!_

 **-** **Thank you so much, you will find out about Caroline's journey to becoming Queen soon, once we get further into the story you'll see that Caroline has become a much more reserved character due to everything that she's been through once Klaus left Mystic Falls. This chapter and the next one aren't as long as I thought they'd be but the ones after that are longer.**

 **Hellz-on-Earth: I actually hadn't come across Josephine LaRue before since I don't watch TO anymore but I looked into her and after thinking about it I might edit a few chapters to include her since it'll make the connection between New Orleans and Charleston even stronger, hell I'm even thinking of making Caroline and Josephine acquaintances from before which will seriously confuse Klaus as he hasn't heard of Caroline's involvement with the witches in the French Quarter.**

 **Jordanbear: Thanks, you're vision of the bond between Hope and Caroline is absolutely correct, you'll see their first interaction in this chapter and it will grow immensely throughout the story. About the area Caroline rules: she oversees a considerable amount of South Carolina from the Hilton Head Islands to Columbia to North Myrtle beach- the area appears as a triangle shape if you check it out on google images** _ **but**_ **she also owns two Sumter National Forest areas as well as the Francis Marion National Forest already within her 'city', these will play big roles in the story so be sure to remember them because they'll help in the context of some scenes in later chapters. Though she rules the majority of South Carolina her 'head' rule is Charleston. Remember Caroline is the Queen of the entire outlined area for the supernatural but she will still work alongside the mayors of each little town. Some of you may consider Caroline ruling an entire sector like this a bit overwhelming for our favourite blond but I assure you that it will all make sense once we delve into her background and how she came to be the leader of this area. As a bonus, Caroline rules this** _ **entire**_ **area whilst Klaus rules New Orleans, what I've noticed from the few references to his rule which I have seen is that he is the king of the French Quarter, Layfette cemetery, the bayou and Tulane which are all pretty close together (if google maps is correct) so the comparison of land under both rules will be quite a challenge to accept especially for Klaus since he's been at it longer than Caroline has so do expect a whole amount of jealousy from him. As for the Mystic Falls gang? Well…you'll have to see but don't worry you'll get your answer within the next 2 chapters. BTW I love your ramblings jordanbear**

 **To everyone else who has shown their appreciation- Peefrimgar, KitKat2014, both of the guests (29/10/15) and guest (09/11/15), alexangel77, Carolineforbesisawesome, Ashilz, KlaroFeels, LoveOfAVampire, Lu Mach and HouseOfBellarke – Thank you all so much for your continued support, I'm sending you all xoxo.**

 **Here's the next chapter so enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think. :D**

"Should tell Bonnie about her?"

"Not yet. I want to know what she wants from Bon before we get her involved." Katherine tilted her head.

"You sure?" Caroline nodded sharply.

"Yeah, I don't want to involve her unnecessarily, I mean she's on a date," a small smile crossed her lips, "you saw how happy she was this morning, I'm not ruining it today for some girl whose turned up out of the blue." Caroline parked in front of the big house/fort known as the Citadel which was located at the centre of the town surrounded with the hustle and bustle of the entire city. They got out entering the building which had a stone floor with a round wooden table in the middle accompanied with wooden chairs. A chandelier was hanging down from the ceiling providing the light in the courtyard, the stone staircase led up to then lead to two paths around the upper floor which had a wooden banister running around it all the way with a few stone pillars breaking the pattern up. The Citadel was the main location for when the factions wanted to meet and it was where business in the supernatural community always took place.

A few wolves, vampires and witches lived in the house, Caroline had appointed them to be the protectors of the city, it had become necessary when the city had unexpected visitors 9 years ago when Lord Chatelier, a Parisian lord, had come down from France after hearing the news of a strong witch coven, wolf pack and united vampires. He had hoped to take over the city but became one of the tragedies which graced it instead. His heart had been ripped clean from his chest by Katherine when he had tried to take Bonnie.

The 'inner circle' as they had come to be known by the residents of the city consisted of various supernatural creatures ranging from teenagers to 700 year old vampires, newly triggered wolves to alphas, and highly practised witches.

Caroline strode in purposefully with Katherine to see most of them in the house, some talking and sitting on the couches in the corner of the courtyard, others sitting on the top of the _Citadel_ where they could enjoy the perfect view of the city whilst some were simply in their rooms or playing pool.

Katherine's heels clicked on the stone floor as she slid her jacket off her body and threw it on the chair on the right of the central chair around the round table, it landed perfectly folded over the back of the seat. Caroline scanned the balcony with a raised eyebrow as she picked up the scent of overused gel and wax, she flashed up the stairs halfway before turning to look up at the opposite balcony to see a man approaching the banister with a grin on his face. The blonde smiled at him brightly before flashing to him and hugging him tightly.

"You could have called." He hugged her tightly and pulled away still smiling.

"And missed this reunion." He teased before hugging her again, he looked down to the courtyard to see Katherine sitting on the chair with her legs thrown over the side as her jacket hung behind her. She smirked up at them.

"And here I thought I was your favourite, Matty-blue-eyes."

"Matthew, long-time-no-see, I thought you'd at least call, I must say I'm disappointed" Ben, a 70 year old vampire, clapped him on the shoulder greeting him. "It's been a while since you've been here, man. We should celebrate." He said as he wiggled his eyebrows whilst Matt grinned and pulled a bottle of vintage bourbon from behind his back and cocked up his brow.

"What do you think?"

"I knew there was a reason I like you, you're definitely speaking my language, Matt, sorry Care but I'm going to have to drag him away from you." Caroline rolled her eyes as the boys retreated to the built in bar at the side of the courtyard.

Caroline turned to see Cassandra, a 15 year old girl who had just discovered her magic, staggering along with a pile of books in her arms. "Cass, hey." The girl with luscious red hair and freckles looked up with her green eyes which lit up when she saw the blond.

"Hi Care." A book dropped from the pile and Caroline flashed reaching it just as it was about to hit the ground. She lifted it back up with a smile. "Thanks, I'm such a klutz." She murmured.

"It's ok Cass, what's with all the books?"

"Grams asked me to read up on the levitation spell so…" she gestured to the books. Caroline smiled.

"Levitation, wow, you're advancing, that's good. Have you mastered the toad spell yet?" Cass frowned and shook her head.

"What is it?"

"It turns any object into a toad." Cassandra's eyes widened at the information. "Word of advice, don't try it on a person, it takes _ages_ to undo." The red-head grimaced.

"Hey Care, you got a minute?" Caroline said bye to Cass before walking down to Laurie who was bearing her teeth in the mirror.

"Are you ok, Laurie?" Caroline asked trying to stifle a giggle at the faces the newly triggered wolf was pulling in the mirror.

"Have my teeth gotten longer? My eyes seem redder than they were before. Is that normal? Do you think I'll be faster and stronger than before, that'd be super cool, racing around Charleston with super speed." She exclaimed when her eyes widened as she looked at Caroline. "Wait, you're a vamp, tell me what it's like." Caroline leant against the wall which the mirror was hung on as she continued to watch Laurie pull faces and check her incisors.

"It's pretty cool, but that's not what it'll be like for you, you'll feel stronger and faster but you'll get angrier and it'll set in much quicker so you'll need to keep your temper in check." Caroline furrowed her brow, "Haven't you talked to Vince about all this?"

"Not yet." She blushed and glanced to the floor, Caroline knew instinctively what that look meant.

"Laurie, just talk to him, he'll help you honestly and I think he's got a crush one you so two birds with one stone and all that, right?" Caroline shrugged as she walked away leaving Laurie to contemplate her words.

The blond made her way to the side room to see the decorations which had been prepared to be hung for the night party as the Spoleto festival continued for the next few weeks. The trail of fairy light had been rolled up so they could easily be hung from one rooftop to the other whilst the crates of beer where stacked at the sides for the stalls which would be set up in the streets as the party arrived but the majority of the room was filled with racks of costumes which would be worn throughout the night by the performers ranging from Caribbean style to vintage styles.

Her eyes picked out the large clown in the corner of the room causing her to huff as she walked back out to the middle of the courtyard.

"Alright, who put the clown in the prep room?" She shouted out waiting for an answer but none came. "Come on" she whined, "I thought we all agreed that it'd be too scary to be used."

"I think you mean that you'd be too scared, the rest of us are fine with it aren't we?" Katherine said as she filed her nails.

"I just knew it'd be you. God, Kat, it'll cause nightmares throughout the town." She scoffed.

"You used the same excuse last year."

"That's because the year before I distinctly remember you putting it out and all the kids in the town refusing to attend the circus that had come in because they had a clown there." Katherine failed to hide a smirk as she shrugged.

"I blame the circus, did you see the lion? Please, I could have scared it with one look."

"You can scare anything with one look" Caroline murmured under her breath then smiled overenthusiastically as Katherine narrowed her eyes at her. "Look all I'm saying is-"She stilled when she saw a stranger appear through the entrance.

* * *

Hope made her way through the streets on foot following Jake's directions until she finally arrived at the _Le Coeur Citadel_ which was _huge_ , her eyes took in the sheer size of the building and she immediately noticed that it was bigger than the abattoir back in the French Quarter. _Shit, whoever this Queen is she's got some serious style._

Hope took a deep breath and approached the entrance of the building, just as she was about to step in she scuttled to the side to lean against the wall taking in deep breaths. She hesitatingly peeked through the entrance and her eyes picked out the number of people in just her field of view, she retreated quickly knocking her head back against the wall as she gave herself a pep talk.

"Ok, calm, deep breaths. Deep even breaths. You'll be fine, Hope, perfectly fine." She puffed out a deep breath and strode through the entrance slowly taking in the sight of the room which seemed to be fit for royalty. _Well the Queen does live here_ her inner voice said, before she could continue to admire the interior she froze as her eyes locked onto light blue orbs which had narrowed in curiosity.

"Um, hi." Hope's voice came out small and she cleared her throat before speaking again. "Hi." Caroline watched the girl, her hair was straightened and dark blonde, her eyes were a dark blue lined with blond lashes as her raspberry coloured lips were pulled up into a hesitant smile.

"Hello." _This must be the girl Jake was talking about, Hope Devereux._ "Who are you?" Caroline moved closer to the girl as Katherine stood up looking Hope up and down.

"I'm Hope, Hope Devereux." Hope moved uncertainly closer to Caroline as she looked around the courtyard. "I was told you could help me, I'm looking for Bonnie Bennett." Hope's eyes ran over the blonde woman and she felt something familiar about her but she just couldn't place what it was.

"Bonnie Bennett? Can I ask why?" Hope bit her lip as she realised everyone was looking in her direction and listening to their conversation. Caroline noticed her hesitation and glanced around her seeing everyone's attention on them. "Why don't you come with me?" She gestured to a room at the side, Caroline opened the door holding it for Hope who shuffled towards her slowly.

"Thanks." Hope entered the room which seemed to be like a library, there were a few sofas in the middle with side tables whilst a fireplace sat at the side but hadn't been lit. Books lined the walls and Hope took in the delicate new-book mixed with old-book scent which made her feel warm inside. Caroline gestured for Hope to sit whilst she went to the side and placed a few leaves in a bowl which she lit before heading towards a mini-fridge and getting out two coke cans.

"Coke?" She passed the can over and opened her own as she sat back on the sofa opposite Hope.

"Thank you." Hope said quietly, her eyes flicked to the burning leaves and Caroline followed her gaze before looking back at her inquisitively. Hope saw the look as if she was challenging her.

"It's sage."

"That it is. You know of it?" Caroline said taking a sip from her can as Hope nodded. "So you're a witch?" Hope bit her lip obviously nervous before nodding again. "Where are you from, Hope?" Caroline asked.

"How do you know I'm not from here?" Hope challenged her shyly causing Caroline to smile.

"I've been in this town for 13 years, I know every resident here and I've never seen _you_ before," She shrugged, "and the accent, it's from the south, definitely not Charleston. So?"

"I'm from New Orleans." Caroline ignored the tightening in her chest and focusing back on the girl.

"What's your witch line?" Hope's eyes widened at the question.

"Devereux." Caroline hummed at the lie.

"And what are you doing here?"

'Looking for Bonnie Bennett." Caroline tilted her head at the young girl, she was from New Orleans and had lied about her last name which was evident form the stutter of her heartbeat.

"Why?"

"I need her help with my magic, it's been on a blink lately." Caroline narrowed her eyes.

"So you want to get help with your magic from Bonnie."

"Yeah, you know, the odd spell that she could just check if I'm performing right." Caroline pursed her lips which Hope noticed. _Why is she interrogating me like a common criminal?_ "What's with all the questions, no offence but I don't even know who you are and I just need Bonnie's help, not yours." Caroline smiled at Hope's attitude, it was different from the shyness she had showed before.

"Firstly, Bonnie's my best friend and I look out for her especially when a stranger travels for over 5 hours to meet her. Secondly, when said witch comes from a lineage- the Devereux's- of such strength and thirdly, when, again, said person is lying to me." Hope's eyes widened and she gripped the fabric of the sofa.

"I'm not lying." Hope said clearly trying to convince her.

"You just told me that you want Bonnie to _see_ you perform a spell and check what's wrong but you also told me you're a Devereux witch, two matters which are conflicting. Devereux's practise ancestral magic which can only take place on witch grounds, yours being New Orleans, and yet you're here. Quite a distance from home." Caroline placed her can to the side before locking her eyes on Hope. "Now, do you want to tell me the truth?" Caroline placed her palms on the armchair. "Who are you because you're obviously _not_ a Devereux witch?"

Hope felt her breath catch in her throat at how quick the woman had caught onto the truth, she debated whether to tell her the truth or not, but then furrowed her brow as she didn't know if she could trust her even though her instincts told her to.

"Fine, I'll tell you the truth if you tell me who you are." Hope felt the sudden surge of familiarity overcome her again. Caroline sighed at the girl and shrugged to herself, _what harm could it do?_

"I'm Caroline Forbes." Hope's eyes widened as she figured out why the woman seemed familiar.

"Caroline?" She asked breathily. She nodded.

 _Caroline –However long it takes_

Hope stared at Caroline comparing her to the drawing she had found, the woman before her and sketch shared the same face, but this woman's hair was much longer, falling to just below her shoulders in soft tousled curls whilst her eyes were a deeper shade of blue than the image. Hope blinked as she saw Caroline tilt her head as the younger blonde watched the other.

Caroline heard her heartbeat quicken minutely and thought nothing of it, Jake must have told Hope her name and the quickened heartbeat could have just been from putting a face to the name.

"Your turn." Hope sat back as she pushed back the questions which had now crossed her mind _, why did her dad draw her, had they met before, if they had, how close where they?_

"My name _is_ Hope _._ I _am_ a witch just…not a normal one." Caroline watched the girl curiously as she struggled to explain herself.

"But you're not a Devereux."

"No."

"What's your last name?" Hope took a deep breath in before she closed her eyes and spoke.

"Kenner" Hope opened her eyes and watched doubt flash across Caroline's eyes before she nodded in acceptance. It wasn't a _lie,_ so to speak, her mother was married to Jackson whose last name was Kenner and since he _was_ her stepfather it _did_ make her last name Kenner, _kind of._

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hope Kenner." Caroline reached out her hand which, after a moment's hesitation, Hope took and shook.

"You too, Caroline." They smiled at each other, Caroline could sense there was still something that the younger blonde was not telling her whilst Hope wondered why her father had sketches of this woman. Thy must have met before, she was sure of that, but what puzzled her most of all was what the words _'however long it takes'_ meant on the drawing which was resting at the bottom of her bag.

 **So…how was it?**

 **I hope you liked the first glimpse Caroline-Hope interaction there's a whole lot more to come with those two.**

 **I know this chapter was on the smaller side but to tide you over I'll leave a few spoilers:**

 **-Caroline shows Hope around some parts of the city=bonding time.**

 **-Katherine will be a bit suspicious about Hope.**

 **-There will be a few more new characters involved and one that Hope will find a best friend in.**

 **-Caroline sees first-hand how much Hope has missed whilst growing up so she does a few things that help the young hybrid mature and grow (hint: Caroline has perfected the art of hand-to-hand combat over the years but Hope hasn't :P)**

 **-Kol: '** _ **Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family…'**_

 **Also, I wanted to find out if people had any specific pairings in mind aside from Klaroline and Kenneth since they're here to stay. How does everyone feel about Katherine paired with Elijah because I'm having a 50/50 split about them in my own head right now. I've got a new character who I'd pair with Katherine instead who hasn't been introduced yet but tell me whether you want Kalijah, Katherine/OC or Katherine Pierce needing no other half and just flitting her way through life with mindless flings?**


	4. Chapter 4

Caroline still had questions about this girl, if she wasn't a Devereux witch why was she seeking Bonnie out?

"You said you weren't a normal witch?" Hope was pulled out of her train of thought by Caroline's voice.

"I'm part wolf." Hope was completely still in her chair as she spoke, a witch-werewolf hybrid wasn't impossible in fact she had heard of a few from Sophie.

"I'm guessing your parents are a witch and werewolf?" Hope nodded instead of speaking hoping to maintain the lie. Caroline got up and gestured to the door. "Well, Bonnie's busy today but there are other witches who could hel-"

"No." Hope said immediately, "No thank you." She didn't want a witch figuring out who and what she was. "I'd prefer if it's her." Caroline smiled at her and nodded.

"Sure, but she isn't here, she's on a date," Caroline rolled her eyes, "trust me you'd rather be here than when she's loved up, it's sickening." Caroline said making Hope laugh at her.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Caroline scoffed.

"Please, it's like…it's like a cross between a puppy and ferocious kitten, you _do not_ want to be there when they get it on." She grimaced as Hope giggled at the description. "Anyway, I'm guessing you've just arrived in the city?"

"Yep."

"Have you got a place to stay?" Caroline asked as she took the empty cans and placed them in the bin, Hope shook her head.

"Not yet, I still need to look for a hotel or something." Caroline bit her lip.

"Unless…" Caroline shrugged and moved closer to Hope, "…you want to stay with me, it's just a thought, I mean, you're new and you don't know anyone and you're looking for Bonnie. If you stayed with us you'd be more likely to see her as much as possible." Hope's lips turned up into a smile.

"Yeah, I'd love that, if you don't mind that is…" Caroline giggled at the girl.

"I really don't mind, but don't you have any bags?" Caroline asked curiously as she looked at Hope who was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans combo with a leather jacket on top.

"It's in the car…which is in the witch quarter." Hope said hesitantly as she realised how far away the car was. Caroline opened the door and nodded for Hope to follow.

"We'll get it, I can give you the grand tour on the way." Hope smiled at the idea and nodded as she followed Caroline back out to the courtyard.

"Everyone." Caroline drew their attention and the conversations quietened down. "This is Hope Kenner, she's going to be staying with us for a couple of weeks-"

"One week." Hope said blushing as she realised that she'd interrupted Caroline who just smiled at her.

"-One week, show her what this city is about and how we do things."

"Aye aye cap'n" Ben said as he raised his bottle from the corner as he sat next to Matt, "Lovely to meet you, Hope. The name's Ben Sullivan, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask, half of us won't know the answers anyway." He said earning a few chuckles and an eye-roll from Caroline.

"Ignore him, he thinks he's God's gift to this this town. I think he was dropped as a child." Caroline shot back at him.

"I resent that." Ben shouted up with a grin.

"Resent all you like, won't stop it from being the truth." Hope laughed at the banter between the pair and the wholeness of all the people. Hope glanced at the others when her eyes fell on the brunette who had her legs swung over the chair she was sitting on, their eyes met and Katherine got up gracefully with a smirk.

"I'm Katherine Pierce." The brunette said as she eyed the blonde teenager.

"Pleasure to meet you." Hope said using the manners her Uncle Elijah had taught her.

"I'm sure it is." Her voice came out slow as a snake's hiss.

"Kat, be nice." Caroline said with a groan seeing the mean Katherine façade come into play. Katherine flicked her hair back before flashing into her room. "And that's Matt." Caroline said as she pointed at the man who was doing bench presses but got up with a grin.

"Hello Hope." Hope nodded at him.

"Yeah, I know, bench press competition, totally uncool." Caroline murmured under her breath allowing Hope to hear and causing her to try and stifle a laugh.

"I heard that, Care" Matt said with a pout. Caroline rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, if you'd all excuse us, we have a city to explore. Come on Hope." They turned away. "And get rid of the clown!" She shouted over her shoulder as Hope quirked her eyebrow in confusion at her words. "Don't ask." She murmured making Hope smile as they walked out onto the filled streets.

Hope scanned the street, it was packed full of people and performances.

"Why are there so many street performers?" Caroline smiled as they passed a saxophone player who had gained a crowd.

"Ever heard of the Spoleto festival?" Hope shook her head, "Well, every year, in Charleston, street performers gather and well, perform. It's 17 day long festival which continues into the night. Basically the streets are filled with music and art as well as culture." A group of ballerinas danced past them pirouetting their way down the street. "You're lucky you arrived when you did, any later and the highways would be packed and you'd be stuck in traffic." Caroline said as she looked across the rooftops and Hope followed her gaze, there were people sitting on the edges having conversation so some whilst on others there were people jumping across the buildings. "Street runners." She nodded to the figure who was darting across the building to building. "They have cameras on them capturing every moment, it's quite the sight from the top." Caroline gestured to the alley, "Come on." Caroline took her hand and led her towards it, it widened up to some stairs which led to the top of the building where you could see the overview of the city.

"Oh my God." Hope whispered at the sight before her, there were colours everywhere she looked, in the distance she could see buildings upon buildings until her eyes sought out a vast area of green forest with the top of a huge mansion like building. "What's that?" She pointed towards it.

" _That_ is _le region de loupe_." Hope's eyes widened as she translated the words.

"The wolf quarter." Caroline nodded with a grin as she led her across the roof and they skipped down to the next one along. "But it's so close." She said to herself as she glanced towards it again.

"And?" Caroline said even though she knew what Hope was thinking.

"How is it possible for it to be so close but not have any problems with them? I mean there are vampires _and_ witches here as well. Is there some sort of magic water they drink to stop them fighting?" She asked seriously curious as Caroline laughed at her words.

"No, no magical water drugging everyone." She shook her head at the thought, "We have a truce."

"Between everyone?" Hope asked surprised, sure her dad had set up a truce between the factions but there was always the odd few incidents between each side which made them have to fix everything again. "How?"

"Each faction doesn't think they're different from the other, well they do but not as if they are totally separate things to each other. It's like the human race, it has so many differences within in, crude, culture, religion, etc, a faction is just a difference within the entirety of the supernatural race. They get along knowing that none are superior to the others, do you get what I mean?" Hope nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I think so, it's like a bake sale, all the things you make are baked but come in different ways, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, right?" Caroline nodded with a tilt of her head.

"I've never thought about it like that before, but yeah, I guess you're right." Caroline said in an amused tone, they continued to walk across the rooftops until they reached the end of the street entering the witch quarter. "I suppose you've gone to lots of bake sales then?" Caroline teased her but Hope's smile faltered as she shook her head.

"No, I've never been to one." Hope cleared her throat, "I didn't get the chance…I've never been to school." Caroline's jaw dropped.

" _Never_ in your life?" Hope shook her head. "Why not, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My family doesn't _believe_ in the education system."

"So were you, like, home schooled?" Caroline asked curious of the girl's background.

"Sort of, my uncle taught me bits and pieces, but he was more focused on history rather than any of the other subjects." They were walking along the edge of a rooftop when Hope looked down and saw a witch levitating leaves in front of her which made Hope curious.

"When I first arrived, there some witches doing magic in the streets, making flames and lights appear from their hands in plain sight of the humans, is that allowed?" Caroline looked down to the street and nodded towards a group performing magic.

"You mean like that?" Hope followed her sight and her eyes fell on a few witches striking up animals like she had seen before.

"Yeah, like that." She whispered completely mesmerised. Caroline sat down on the roof top and lowered herself onto a balcony beneath as Hope followed her movements and they stood looking over the scene on the street.

"Yeah, it's allowed. Just because humans see magic being performed doesn't mean they connect the dots. Look at the street magician there," she pointed to the man Hope had seen before doing card tricks, "he's a warlock conning people out of their money by using magic to change the face of the card, sure it's unethical, I know, but it proves the point. I hate to say it but humans are close-minded, I know I was. You give them blood with added flavours and tell them that it's just flavoured gin with food colouring, they'd probably believe it." They walked along the balcony keeping their eyes on the street, "It's the same, you show them magic in plain sight and they come up with reasons which rationalise it."

"Holograms and strobe lighting." Hope said recalling the man she had heard in the street before.

"Exactly." The came to a set of spiral stairs that they came down which was right in front of the bar which Hope had entered earlier.

"I see you found her then." A voice came from behind, the girls both turned to see Jake leaning against a pillar wearing a leather jacket and smirk.

"Oh, it's you." Hope murmured.

"Now, now, is that hostility that I'm hearing?" His grin widened as he ambled closer to them and winked at Hope who rolled her eyes at him. "Can I ask you something?" Hope pursed her lips before nodding. "Aren't you tired?" Hope looked at him confused until he spoke again, "You must be since you've been running around my mind all day."

"You've got to be kidding me." Caroline murmured, just as she was about to pull Hope away she was pleasantly surprised by the girls comeback.

"Yeah, well that damn exit door is pretty well hidden." Hope said with a smirk before turning and pulling Caroline away not before the older blonde looked over her shoulder.

"Oooh, burn!" Caroline giggled and Hope couldn't help but join in before they turned the corner where Hope's car was parked.

"This is it." She opened the car and they got in with Caroline in the driver's seat since she knew the layout of the city much better than Hope did, they drove back towards the _Citadelle._

"So you and Jake?" Caroline said as she wiggled her eyebrows causing Hope to roll her eyes.

"There is no _me and Jake_ , I barely know him." Caroline leaned back in her seat as they took the longer route round the city avoiding the crowds which would be in the centre.

"Please, I know that look."

"What look?"

"The one you both had in your eyes, the ' _I don't know you yet but I totally want to know you'_ look." Caroline said smugly as Hope blushed.

"No way, like I said, we're strangers and my dad would totally kill me if he found out."

"Ah, yes the 'mother act' as I like to call it." Hope looked at her curiously willing her to explain. "When the dad acts like the protective mother and wouldn't hesitate to rip off someone's head."

"So you've had a lot of experience with that?" Caroline's expression fell as she shook her head.

"No, my dad wasn't really there when I was a child. He left me and my mom when I was 6 for another man." Hope's jaw dropped and Caroline chuckled at her expression, "Yeah, that's my favourite party trick." Silence fell in the car.

"I'm sorry." Hope murmured.

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault, hell I doubt you were even born then, how old are you?"

"17."

"The age I was turned." Hope looked at her noticing that she did look 17 but there was an aura about her suggesting she was much wiser.

"How were you turned?"

"You're a curious little thing aren't you?" Caroline said teasingly causing Hope to blush, "Katherine suffocated me." Hope's eyes widened.

"But I thought you two were friends?" Caroline smirked and nodded.

"We are. We bonded over our mutual dislike." Hope furrowed her brow trying to work out what that meant, "Yeah, it's a difficult principle to accept but yeah, she killed me, we bonded and now she's one of my best friends." Caroline turned the corner and they arrived to see Katherine leaning against the wall of the _Citadelle._ "Speak of the devil and she shall appear….


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry for my absence but I've finally decided what uni degree I want to do so I've been busy with applying and preparing for interviews.**

 **I hope this chapter makes up for the absence, the next chapter is good to go as well but I've got a few bits to edit and it's** _ **huge**_ **one. I'll be uploading it in the next two days. I swear.**

 **Hope you enjoy and tell me what you think :D**

Katherine watched Hope carefully, there was something odd about her that she couldn't pinpoint yet, but her instincts were screaming that they didn't know the whole story about this girl and Katherine's instincts were never wrong, hell they kept her alive for the past 500 years.

"Caroline." She paused as she eyed Hope, "Hope." Her eyes settled on the black SUV. "Nice car." She strode over and ran her perfectly manicured fingers along the hood, "Must have been expensive, right?" She glance up at Hope whose gaze flickered between the paintwork and Katherine's fingernails which were close to scratching Sophie's car.

"It's my dad's car." Hope kicked herself mentally as she spoke without thinking and revealed the crucial information. Trying to keep it together she continued, "He let me borrow it, but I guess it was." Katherine hummed at her words as she glanced through the window to the interior.

"Wow, your dad must be made of money, and _very_ trusting." Katherine straightened up with a smirk and began moving round the car towards Hope. "I mean, to buy a car which is worth thousands _and_ let his barely legal daughter drive around it…" she cocked up her eyebrow, "…very peculiar indeed."

"Kat, stop it." Caroline interrupted as she heard Hope's heartbeat quicken, "Seriously, come on Katherine ease off, she's a guest." Caroline said as she sighed, before gesturing towards the open doors of the _Citadelle._ "Was there something that you needed, Kat?"

"No, but Theo is waiting for you." Caroline slapped her head against her hand.

"Of course. I'll be an hour, tops." She said to Hope. "BTW Hope's going to be staying with us for a few days." Katherine sighed and nodded with a purse of her lips.

"Fine, but if you _touch_ any of my stuff I'll cut off fingers, and don't think I won't, I've done it before." Kat smirked as she remembered. "Though that can be a bit messy." She shrugged and gave Hope a sweet smile. "Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you."

"You'll like her. _Eventually."_ Caroline said with a smile which Hope immediately trusted.

"I'm sure I will." She said sarcastically as they walked into the courtyard where a man dressed in a pristine suit, reminding her of Elijah, was waiting with a cane in his hand and a briefcase in the other.

"Took you long enough, dear." He said as his eyes flickered from Caroline to Hope who felt a chill run down her back at his rough yet confident voice. "Katherine, be a doll and get me some bourbon." Katherine scoffed at his demand.

"Sure, where do you want me to stick the bottle, down your throat or up your behind?" She asked innocently as she fluttered her eyes.

"I've always liked that about you Katherine, 13 years and you _still_ haven't lost your edge." He grinned at her as Caroline rolled her eyes and led him to a separate room.

* * *

Hope looked around and noticed big wooden double doors which were open leading to a vast array of greenery, blaming her curiosity, she walked towards it and stepped through into a vast garden behind the property, there was a fountain in the middle spewing water with roses around it and a greenhouse at the end of the large garden. She saw the top of red hair peeking out from tall grass and decided to move closer. Hope realised the girl wasn't a vampire, she had a beating heart and the fact that the girl was holding a rose in her hand as she murmured told her that she must be a witch.

Hope watched the girl as she stared at the wilting flower intently and forced a few incantations from her lips which had no effect on the rose. She cleared her throat causing the girl to become startled and drop the rose, she twisted her neck suddenly and pushed up her glasses up to the bridge of her nose focusing her vision on Hope who stepped out from behind the grass coming into full view.

"Hi." Hope greeted the girl and stepped closer, the redhead looked startled for a moment before nodding.

"Hi, who are you?" She asked noticing that the blonde girl was someone she hadn't seen before.

"I'm Hope, um, I'm new, I'm staying here for a couple of days." Hope's eyes flickered to the dying rose. "You're a witch?" The girl nodded with a grimace as she looked down to the floor which lay on the grass and picked it up.

"Trying to be." The girl murmured but Hope heard her. Hope still remembered when Davina had first taught her how to revive a rose, it had taken a couple of ours to master but she had eventual done it, to say it had been difficult would be an understatement, it had been a complete and utter nightmare. Reviving a rose and keeping it alive were two very different things.

"Do you need some help with that?" Hope asked softly knowing that most witches would refuse to not show weakness but this girl blushed and nodded before narrowing her eyes.

"Are you a witch?" Hope gave her a smile and nodded.

"Yeah." She walked closer and kneeled beside the girl. "What's your name?"

"Cassandra, but you can call me Cass." The girl had a definite 'flower-child' air about her as she wore a long skirt with a pair of sandal whilst her white shirt was tucked into the skirt which ruffled around her legs as it lay elegantly around her. "Have you done this before?" She asked gesturing towards the rose.

"A few times, yeah. Not the easiest to learn." She held out her hand for the rose as Cass laid it in the palm of her hand. "The trick is to fully feel it," Cass looked at her confused, "the magic, it's not just about incantations or spells, it's about feeling the flow of live in your body as you will the rose to grow." Cass watched as the rose turned from a damaged, dead flower to a velvety, strong rose. "See, you try." Hope plucked another dying flower and placed it into Cassandra's palms.

Cass took a deep breath and focused all her will on it but nothing happened. "I can't do it." She said dismayed, Hope shook her head.

"You're thinking about it too much." Hope placed her palms just under Cass' hands supporting her. "Think of something that made you happy." Cass furrowed her brow but nodded anyway. "Something that made you feel _alive,_ something that made you feel _passion_ and _light._ Something _good."_

Slowly but surely the desiccating daffodil's orange-yellow petal became a sunlit yellow as they rose gently losing all sense of death and instead brightening with every thought Cassandra thought of. The crinkled dark green stem straightened out curving into a natural position as it became evergreen.

Cassandra's eyes widened as she watched the transformation in front of her eyes and felt the sensation run within her veins immersing her blood with coursing magic. "Oh my God." She whispered as the daffodil's transition came to a stop. "I did it, I finally did it." Cassandra looked up and launched herself at Hope hugging her tightly. "Thank you, I've been trying to do that for 2 weeks and every time it kept failing." Hope giggled at her action, she had never been hugged apart form family or her parents' friends, more like allies, she hadn't had any true friends who weren't in fear of her or her family.

"Your welcome, Cass." She looked at the books which had been scattered behind the girl and the loose pages, Cass caught her gaze and pushed her glasses back up embarrassingly. Hope realised the effort this girl had gone through and it reminded her of herself, she had spent hours trying to figure magic out, tried to learn every spell, every word in every grimoire she could get her hands on but eventually she found that all she needed was the majority was will, not knowledge that created magic. "That's a load of books."

"I thought I'd read up on the levitating spell, it's the one I'm learning next." Hope bit her lip before she spoke.

"I could help you." Cassandra looked at her in awe. "I mean, I've learnt all this stuff before, so I could give you a few pointers."

"Really?" Cass asked with a giddy smile and Hope couldn't' help but return it with a nod.

"Sure," she pulled a grimoire towards her, "the first thing you need to remember is to determine how much force you put behind it, the bigger the object, the more power you need to channel…." Hope glanced up seeing Cass nodding along listening intently to her words.

* * *

 _ **Inside…**_

"How's business?" Caroline asked as she poured Theo a drink and slid it across the large oval table in what seemed to be an office like room. Theo smirked at her as he grabbed a folder from his briefcase and slid it across to Caroline who opened it and looked impressed.

"Well that's certainly more than we expected."

"With the festivities, more and more vampires are entering Charleston, most who have visited before so they already know the protocols. And those who don't, well," he chuckled, "they usually find out soon enough."

"And the suppliers?" Theo gave her a gentle smile.

"Always willing, we haven't had any incidents since Anna." Caroline leaned back in her chair as she looked up at him.

"That should never have happened." Her voice was resolute and tight.

"And it never will again. We keep them safe Caroline, you know this." Caroline nodded hesitantly running her fingers over the pages. "They all get paid well."

"Sometimes just experiencing it gives them nightmares." Caroline murmured though Theo heard it with his vampire hearing.

"They all know the consequences and if they back out they can, they have a _choice_ , Care. They always will." Caroline let out a puff of air and strengthened her resolve.

"I know, Theo, it's just, I don't want any of the vampires to get carried away, they need to remember that it's a blood bar, nothing more."

"I assure they will always remember, we have guards who are _extremely_ powerful." He said in a confident tone.

"Good." She looked down at the paper. "Well the profit is greater than we had expected, I'm impressed Theo." He gave her a cocky grin.

"Well, I do try." She tilted her head in appreciation.

"That you do. I might come down to see them again, just to make sure."

"That's fine, Care." He said in a relaxed tone as he straightened his tie and waited for Caroline to be done with looking over the pages. "I see we've got another addition to the family," Caroline hummed, "the blonde?"

"Yeah, well she's looking for some help from Bonnie."

"How is our dear Bon-Bon?" He grinned salaciously wondering what the feisty, dark skinned witch was doing.

"She's fine, on a date actually." His smirk dropped and he rolled his eyes.

"Ah, the one who got away, then, who is it?"

"Kol." She grinned as she heard his exhausted sigh. "Yeah, you've got no chance." He hummed in response just as Caroline closed he file and slid it back over. "Everything's looking good, I'm trusting that it'll continue that way."

"You act as if you doubt me." Caroline rolled her eyes at his dramatics, "of course it will Caroline, I'll see you soon." She gulped back her bourbon and followed Theo out as he left but not before winking at Katherine who rolled her eyes at him.

"Did I tell you that I hate him?" Katherine grumbled as she sat at the built in bar and read a magazine with a martini in her hand.

"Yep, about one thousand, six hundred and seventy two times already, but whose keeping count?" Caroline smirked with a shrug as she looked around noticing the absence of Hope.

"She's outside with Cass." Katherine said without looking up as she flicked the page.

"Keep an eye on them, will you-"

"Not a babysitter" She snorted.

"-I need to talk to Jessie, find out when the packs are all gathering."

"Fine." Katherine huffed before setting the magazine to the side as Caroline flashed out of the courtyard.

* * *

Curious, Katherine headed towards the garden wondering what the girls were up to, as she got closer she saw a few flowers floating in mid-air she focused her hearing on the two girls

" _It's that simple, keep focus, make sure you concentrate and just let it flow."_

" _I'm really doing this, thank you so much."_

" _It's nothing, really, now keep your focus, you don't want it exploding in mid-ai-"_ Katherine flashed forward as a bang resonated in the air and she saw Hope and Cassandra looking wide eyed at each other as a whole host of stems, petals and leaves rained down on them, they began giggling uncontrollably. "Yeah _that_ was the explosion."

"I sort of figured the moment it went _bang."_ Cass sassed her.

"Smartass." Hope said with a grin as Cassandra began throwing petals at the blonde, Katherine watched them act like a normal pair of teenagers, laughing and having fun, she'd only occasionally seen this side of Cassandra but Hope brought it out of her naturally.

"At least that's the only thing that exploded." Katherine said as she raised her perfectly curved eyebrow and smirked at the two who froze and looked at her as if they were deer in headlights. "Oh calm down." She smirked and strode forward before sitting on the dry grass. "Well come on, what else can you do?" Hope and Cassandra glanced at each other before smirking at Katherine.

"Well you asked for it…?" Cassandra murmured as she began whispering and focusing on the small blossoming bluebell rooted into the soil, she focused all her energy on it as Hope and Katherine looked at the hundreds of blossoming bluebells that sprouted from the ground.

Katherine nodded slowly taking in the sight, "Impressive…" she gave the girls a smirk which dropped when they looked at her evil glints in their eyes "…whatever you're thinking, don't do it or I'm going to skin you al-" She froze as a blue petal floated down and rested on the tip of her nose, she wiggled her nose causing it to float to the ground but the second it hit the grass a hoard of petals came crashing down on her.

"Whoops…" Cassandra murmured as she and Hope tried to stifle their giggles as Katherine glared at them.

"You're so going to pay for that…"

* * *

 _ **New Orleans…**_

The pounding on the door made all the Originals sigh, every time they all thought that they would get a piece of calmness something else would come hurtling through the door. Admittedly they didn't really complain about it, it was much more like a tiring inconvenience that occurred daily.

Elijah opened the door and stepped aside as the rage on Hayley's face was evident. She glared at him letting the red veins under her eyes ripple as she stepped into the house.

"Hayley, is something wrong?" She cocked her eyebrow and pursed her lips.

"Where is my daughter?" She asked in a forced voice which was strained with tension.

"She's gone with Sophie to locate a grimoire-"

"She's left New Orleans!" Hayley hissed slamming the door shut behind her causing the whole house to vibrate.

"Yes she has, but she is completely safe-"

"Klaus!" She yelled wanting to have a go at ripping him to shreds, he appeared at the top of the stairs and sauntered down with a smirk.

"Hayley, how may I help you?" He asked with fake niceness. She glared at him as she crossed her arms and Rebekah came down as well wondering what the yelling was about.

"Why is my daughter _not_ in New Orleans, and why was I not told?"

" _My_ daughter is locating a grimoire with Sophie which will help figure out what's wrong with her magic. You weren't told because you didn't need to know." He said nonchalantly ambling past them to the living room where he poured himself a drink.

" _I didn't need to know!_ She's my daughter, of course I need to know." Klaus chuckled mirthlessly.

"Hmm, of course since you've been acting like such a great mother." He said sarcastically. Elijah cleared his throat.

"Niklaus-"

"I am a good mother." She said resolutely and he chuckled at her belief.

"Yes because putting your pack constantly before Hope is such great parenting." He sipped his scotch letting the liquid course down his throat.

"They need me, I can't abandon them-" She said as she tried to justify her decisions.

"So instead you abandon Hope." Hayley's eyes widen and she shakes her head adamantly.

"No, she comes to the bayou all the time, like she did yesterday, I'm not abandoning her."

"That's not what I saw yesterday. You left her to go run an errand, how long did it take you this time, hmm? 2-3 hours? Sophie called last night telling Hope called _3 hours_ into her stay with you and that you'd only been there for a few minutes at least to talk to Hope. You say that you're not abandoning her when it's exactly what you are doing!" Klaus yelled as rage filled him. He had promised Hope when she was just a baby that she would never feel abandoned, never feel what he had felt, yet no matter how hard he tried there was always something that made him think that he wasn't trying hard enough and Hayley's behaviour was fuelling that.

"I couldn't leave the pack, there were things I had to do, they were important-"

"And Hope isn't?!" His eyes glowed gold as black veins rippled beneath them, Elijah placed his hand on his brother's shoulder trying to calm him down but he pushed Elijah's hand off.

"Niklaus-"

"No! We have fought so damn hard to build a life with Hope and if _she_ doesn't think that Hope is important then I don't want her anywhere near my daughter." Hayley's jaw dropped.

"How dare you!" She screamed at him, "I love Hope just as much as you, but I have commitments which you don't. I can't choose between them."

"Hayley, Niklaus, let's just all calm-"

"Good because I'm not giving you a choice. You _will_ love Hope and you _will_ put her before any of your pack nonsense." He said resolutely slamming the glass back onto the side and locking his eyes with Hayley's who were filled with tears which she tried to blink back.

Silence fell between them all, neither Rebekah nor Elijah knew what to say, their brother had just issued an ultimatum to the mother of their niece and though they both felt it was slightly unfair neither would speak up knowing that if Hayley continued with her priorities in they were she had already set them, their niece would pay the price which they couldn't allow.

Rebekah and Elijah's eyes turned back to the door where pounding restarted whilst Hayley and Klaus continued to have their eyes locked onto the other daring either to move. Hayley's eyes broke away first when she felt them burn with unshed tears. Klaus scoffed at her actions but was pulled away to further insult her when he heard his name being called by his siblings.

"Nik, you've got visitors." Rebekah yelled and as he rounded the corner his eyes widened at the site before him. Elijah cleared his throat as he observed the same scene.

"Well I must say, I wasn't aware we were having any visitors." Elijah murmured losing his composure for a second as his eyes scanned the people at the door before he regained it and stood straighter.

"Well would you look at that, seems like a nasty bite mate." Klaus' lips curved up into a grin as he addressed them but felt a sense of joy rise but diminish when the one he was looking behind them for didn't appear.

Damon was on his knees clutching Stefan's arms who tried to haul him up but was startled when the door had opened, Elena had her arms locked around Damon's arm trying to help him up as tears spilled over her eyes.

"Klaus." Stefan said in a tense voice hauling Damon up. "We need your help." Klaus smirked and cocked his eyebrow seeing the moulding bite in the side of the elder Salvatore's neck. "We need your blood."

"How amusing…" he murmured with a smirk as he watched Damon and Elena glare at him. _Oh how he had enjoyed playing God to these insufferable beings…_

 **So…how was it?**

 **Next chapter we hear what the trio have to say for themselves…**

 **Things to keep in mind/spoilers:**

 **-Don't always believe what you hear…**

 **-We meet someone familiar once again…and Caroline has a connection which Klaus may not be happy about even if circumstances have changed over the past 17 years.**

 **See you next time… :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Thank you to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed.**

 **Lu Mach: Kol does know that Klaus has a child but he doesn't know what that child looks like, their name or whether it's even a boy or girl. We'll be exploring that absence of knowledge later in the story and it ties in with Kol's journey after he came back. Being on the Other Side and having the distance from the other Mikaelsons has caused him to focus on himself rather than the siblings who abandoned him. Matt….he** _ **is**_ **a vampire and we'll definitely be finding out how he became one soon. Enzo does play a** _ **major**_ **part in this but his position will be known in later chapters but I will say this: he is not a love interest for Caroline, this fanfic just like all my others are strictly Klaroline with a few side-ships. Enzo is not part of the inner circle, in fact he has never been to Charleston because he's been occupied with a much more important job.**

 **Jordanbear: You're right, Caroline's hair was always shoulder length, imagine her hair just past her shoulders but no longer than her chest. Klaus knows his daughter is gone but he has no idea she's in Charleston and since Hope 'compelled' Sophie he won't find out straight away. We'll be dealing with that once Caroline and Hope's relationship has solidified…so in like 5-6 more chapters probably. You've got a pretty good theory going on but everything isn't going to be as straight forward and simple as that, Hope is directly tied into an aspect of Caroline's past so think more outside of the box. This chapter should give you a tiny clue (flashback scenes). I love your ramblings jordanbear, never be worried about them. They're pretty amazing thoughts and ideas.**

 **HouseOfBellarke: I completely understand and respect that you don't ship Kol and Bonnie I don't expect everyone to go along with everything that I write but that pair will be staying. Davina will be part of the story-you'll see a tiny part she plays in this chapter- but she'll be a pretty minimalist character within this.**

 **Hellz-on-Earth: This chapter will bring the Klaroline reunion closer, what the trio tell him will make him very curious and determined to figure out what went on. But just for us readers, like I said in the previous chapter, don't believe everything you hear.**

 **Ernacsweeny: You'll find out in this chapter what happened to Damon but I'll make this very clear: what the trio say about their interaction with Caroline over the last 17 years is absolutely true so the last question from your review won't apply in this situation.**

 **Hiba Syria: This chapter will answer your question but like I said in the last chapter in regard to the trio and their 'way of events'-don't believe everything you hear. Klaus will definitely be jealous of Caroline, I completely agree that Klaus wasn't fair on Caroline since he promised to be her 'last love, however long it takes' knowing full well that he was going to be a father.**

 **Before anyone asks or forgets, 5x11 never happened so Klaus never came back after graduation.**

 **-The italics are flashbacks**

 **I really, really hope you enjoy this chapter and that it provides a few answers to your questions. Don't forget to tell me what you think and don't hesitate to ask any questions, I'll try my best to answer them in the next update. Enjoy :D**

"Klaus, please." Stefan pleaded as he lifted Damon up and hauled him across the threshold of the house as Damon groaned and his face twisted into a painful smirk before he coughed spewing blood across the hardwood floor.

"Those were just cleaned." Rebekah drawled out after composing herself from seeing the trio since 17 years ago.

"Sorry to be an inconvenience to you," Elena snapped with a hoarse voice and daggering eyes, "but Damon is dying, I can't find it in me to spare a few tears for the damn _floor."_ The brunette hissed as she clutched Damon tighter.

"Watch your mouth, Gilbert, you're not in Mystic Falls anymore." Rebekah said and the Originals noticed the dark shadows pass over their faces. "Besides, shouldn't you be begging us for help right about now, your boyfriend does seem to be in pretty bad shape?" Damon choked on some blood as Rebekah gave Elena a condescending smirk.

"Klaus." Stefan murmured catching the hybrid's eyes continuing to plead. "Help us." Klaus pursed his lips and looked at the bite again, he could turn the away, shove them out of the door for them to never return and allow Damon to die, he always was a pain in the arse.

But what would _she_ think? Klaus pushed back the thought immediately knowing that if he let his mind linger on it for too long then he would open a door he wouldn't be able to close, not without feeling the crushing depths since _she_ hadn't even accompanied them to at least plead for Damon's life. Sure, he doubted that the elder Salvatore and she were friends but he knew that she would support Elena and Stefan to prevent the Original hybrid from ripping out their hearts.

Or maybe things had changed?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Hayley who scoffed behind him, he was growing extremely exasperated of her presence.

"Klaus we still need to tal-"

"Get out before I wring your neck." He growled out to Hayley who clenched her jaw.

"We're not done." She said in a tense voice earning a malicious smile from Klaus.

"I believe we are." He flashed towards her snapping her neck before stepping back and letting her crumble to the floor.

"Niklaus-"

"Do come in." He interrupted Elijah as he addressed the uninvited guests with a sly smile. "Get rid of her." He gestured towards Hayley before leading the others into the main room where Stefan laid Damon on the couch as he groaned.

"Oh do take you time, I'll just lay here dying." Damon said sarcastically as Klaus sat on the other couch and watched in amusement as the doppleganger held his hand and Stefan straightened up.

"Oh I will, it seems death looks good on you." Klaus said lazily. "What happened, piss off a wolf, mate?" He said with fake curiosity.

"No, it was a _rabbit_ that bit me." Damon glared at him, "Of course it was a wolf, those little basta-"

"Careful, mate, I _am_ a hybrid." Damon huffed with a groan. "So what _did_ you do?" He said meaning it.

"We were travelling, heading for Florida, we stopped on the highway to grab a bite to eat when a wolf came and attacked." Klaus hummed, it certainly wasn't unheard of, at least it wasn't anywhere near New Orleans. "So…" Klaus cocked up his eyebrow at Stefan.

"So…?" Stefan gritted his teeth before relaxing.

"What do you want in return?"

"And what makes you think I want anything, in fact how do you know I intend on giving you my blood. It _is_ quite precious."

" _Yeah, cause you just handed over 10 vials of your blood to Caroline."_ He heard the doppleganger murmur under her breath causing Klaus' smirk to drop.

"What I do with _my_ blood is _my_ decision, you'd do well to remember that, _doppleganger._ " He said with a hard voice. "Now, tell me, where is the rest of the rabble, still in Mystic Falls?"

Klaus wanted to know why Caroline wasn't with them, was she scared? Had she moved on? Was she even in the country? He saw the dark shadow pass over them as they exchanged looks. Stefan turned back and sighed in exhaustion.

"We don't know." He murmured, Klaus blinked rapidly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Elena sniffled and looked up to him but none of the trio spoke. " _What_ do you _mean?"_ He repeated through clenched teeth. Elena pressed her lips together momentarily as if to halt her next words but they came tumbling out anyway.

"The Other Side fell," the brunette began, "and Mystic Falls was overrun with Travellers who placed a barrier around the town, we had to get out so we did. Bonnie died when the Other Side collapsed, she was the anchor between the two sides…

" _RUN!" Damon shouted as he grabbed Elena's arm pulling her back around the corner of the Grill and pushing her against the wall as wooden bullets began flying past hitting the bottles and glasses lingering on the bar. He held onto her arm firmly pulling her further away towards the back exit which Tyler had opened after checking the way making sure that no one was there waiting to ambush them._

" _Come on!" Matt yelled as he tightened his hold on the handle of the baseball bat as it withstood the pressure that Matt exerted on it whilst his eyes flicked to the alley which ran around the back of the Grill, he looked over Tyler's shoulder who led the way out of the alley but froze as the brunette hybrid stilled with tensed shoulders. The blonde inched his way closer trying to figure out what had stopped his friend when his eyes fell on the group of people, men and women, stood loosely in a circle around a man who was lying on the floor seemingly dead when suddenly the people began chanting causing the wind to rush past them and leaves to tornado around them. The night-black haired man gasped as he shot up from the floor and looked around in disbelief before schooling his features into a deadly look paired with a smirk._

" _Markos." One of the men said greeting him as the man known now as Markos stood carefully glancing around before setting his eyes on the people before him._

 _Tyler looked back to Matt who had been joined by Caroline, Stefan, Matt and Elena, they all stood watching the scene in confusion and awe, this was the man Bonnie had spoken off, he was the one who had used Bonnie as a channel to come back from the Other Side killing Bonnie in the process._

" _Where are the doppelgangers?" Markos asked in a low, menacing voice as he straightened his back and slowly stepped around the circle using his legs for the first time getting used to the feel of the hard ground beneath his feet._

" _They got away." A man said wincing as Markos turned towards him with an expressionless face._

" _What?" he hissed tensing his fingers which curled up into fists as he dared the man to continue speaking._

" _But we have enough blood from them." The man said as two other men moved aside to show two buckets filled with blood. Markos pursed his lips as he glanced at the buckets which were brimmed to the top with the red liquid._

" _It'll be enough," he said quietly looking at the blood before he raised his eyes, "but I want the doppelgangers, I want them found, we need more to make the barrier stretch further out." The people around him nodded, "Well what are you waiting for? Go!" The hurried away leaving Markos in the middle as he tilted his head up to the dark sky and smirked with his eyes closed while inhaling the cold air allowing it to fill his lungs. His eyes snapped open and he pursed his lips inquisitively before he waved his hand to a small tree which was blossoming with petite purple petals. The branches began curling around themselves-some which snapped unable to withstand the tension which was exerted-as the trunk swayed and eventually snapped into half, the branches trying to cushion the fall but failing miserably as the wood splintered into pieces._

 _Markos grinned to himself admiring his own destruction before composing himself, he turned glancing up and down the streets which were abandoned before sauntering away as he let the corner of his lips turn up._

" _Let's go" Tyler whispered as he inched out of the alley only to be pulled back by Damon who pinned him to the wall._

" _And who made you leader of the boy scouts, hmm?" Damon said with no hint of amusement before pushing the hybrid back against the wall, "Next time you want to take charge. Don't" Tyler eyed him confusedly before following Damon's gaze which stopped around the corner to where there was a group of travellers walking towards the doors of the Grill._

 _Damon glanced back over his shoulder to the others who were cautiously following him out of the alley. "What's our plan of action?" Matt asked keeping his fingers tense around the baseball bat as he followed the elder Salvatore._

" _Get back to the house, pack our bags and leave." His tone was nonchalant as he kept his eyes focused on his surroundings._

" _We can't just leave, this is our home" Caroline hissed as she followed, Damon rolled his eyes._

" _Look, Blondie, hate to break it to you but our 'home' is currently being overrun by supernatural pests and we don't have any pesticide so unless you have any other plans, sunshine, we're getting out of town pronto." He hissed back edging around another corner as they made their way across the fountain in the middle of town._

 _Caroline swallowed knowing that Damon was right, they couldn't stay here not after Bonnie- 'nope don't think about it'- but she shook her head._

…Jeremy is in Connecticut, Matt-we don't know- we tried finding him but it was like he had completely disappeared." Rebekah who was leaning against the doorframe listening felt her curiosity peak at that moment, "Tyler-" Klaus growled in his throat at the name, "-he's in Vancouver, living a normal life I guess, he's human." Klaus eyes narrowed.

"How?"

"Whoever went through the barrier would have all magic done on them removed, since he was a hybrid he lost the vampire side of him when he crossed it, he's now an untriggered werewolf." Klaus nodded along taking in the information. "Caroline…" Elena's voice trailed off but she cleared her throat, "she left, we don't know where she went or where she is now. When the Other side collapsed and the barrier went up, we had to leave before the travellers and the dead came after us." Her voice began trembling so Stefan took over.

"We all split up, me, Damon and Elena had to leave immediately, the Travellers needed mine and Elena's blood to do a spell increasing the barrier which would strip all magic. Everyone decided to follow us, Caroline had to find her mom and told us all to go…"

" _I need to get my mom." Caroline hissed to Stefan who glanced from his brother back to her._

" _Where is she?"_

" _At the station-" Caroline's words were cut off as the streetlights began exploding around them as well as the lights inside houses, glass shattered enveloping them in a fine sheen of sharp dust, the tinkling sound slowly disappearing but not for long as a huge boom was heard behind them. They turned to see Fell's Church under fire as water began spurting up from the opposite side where the Falls lay._

" _This would be the optimum time to use vamp slash hybrid speed." Damon muttered as he came to a halt seeing movement in the distance. His eyes focused and he could make out the various human figures approaching them from the end of the desolate street._

" _My mom-"_

" _No time blondie, if they catch up it means doppleganger lunch is served." Damon answered through gritted teeth as he grabbed Elena's wrist holding on firmly. Caroline's eyes flickered taking in the danger. The blonde took a deep breath before stepping back slowly parting herself from her friends._

" _I need to find her-"Stefan watched as she moved away further,_

" _Caroline she'll be fine, she's human-" Caroline shook her head adamantly before her eyes stopped on the oncoming tirade of Travellers who were moments away from seeing them, she began backing away from her friends ready to break out into a run before Elena's voice caused her to hesitate._

" _Caroline I can't lose you." Elena said as she tried to fight off Damon's grip but he held on tightly. The blonde gave her a tight smile as she continued to move back stumbling over the rubble that lay at their feet._

" _I'll be fine." She whispered, fear clearly emanating from her voice, shouting erupted as the travellers spotted them, Caroline gave them a weak smile before turning the corner and flashing away as Damon tightened his hold on Elena who stepped towards Caroline's route before pulling her back against him as he forced her to break out into a run as Travellers began chanting in Latin._

" _Come on." Damon hissed as he pushed Elena forward and then pulled her along as they as well as Tyler flashed away to the boarding house whilst Stefan glanced back seeing the empty space which Caroline had left before grabbing Matt and using his vampire speed to follow his brother…_

"…The Travellers followed us but we got out to the other side of the barrier and waited for everyone else. Tyler, Jeremy and Matt arrived, we waited for a few more hours until Matt decided to head back in to find Caroline and her mom, he was human and he wouldn't be affected. We waited for him to return but he never did…"

" _Face it, the quarterback isn't coming back, we need to get out of here now!" Damon hissed as he tried to get Elena's attention but her eyes remained locked onto the vast landscape of Mystic Falls before her which was blocked off by the magic erasing barrier. The brunette licked her dry lips as she continued to ignore Damon but his words continued to ring through her ears. What if something had happened? What if they weren't-NO! Don't listen to him, think positive!_

 _Elena put her full attention on the space in front of her, waiting for someone to come running out through the trees as Damon exhaled a puff of air through clenched teeth. Stefan continued to stand frozen with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes focused in front of him like Elena._

" _How long do we wait?" A small whisper rang through the dry air, Elena blinked rapidly as she heard Jeremy's vulnerable, hesitant voice._

" _As long as we have to." Stefan replied in a hard voice as he straightened his stance, Elena glanced at him with pride. She looked back to Mystic Falls as the constant onslaught of questions filled her head._

 _What happens if they never come back? Do we give up and walk away…?_

… Stefan's eyes were lost in distant memories, his green orbs were hazed over as the glimmer within them dulled, Damon grunted as he felt the venom course through his veins. Klaus ripped into his wrist and let blood pour into a glass before handing it to Elena as he listened intently to Stefan hoping to not get any further interruptions from the elder Salvatore.

"After that Tyler stepped back through the barrier and he became human again, he went back in looking for them and returned. It turned out that along with the dead, Silas had come back." Klaus' felt a shiver run down his spine at the name, he still remembered the false ache in his chest from years ago…

" _We have to do something." Jeremy said frustrated, he pushed himself away from the hood of the Salvatore's black SVU and slowly approached the barrier._

" _What do you suggest, hunter boy? Call them?" Damon walked towards him, "oh, no, wait. We already tried that!" He hissed before glancing towards Elena who was sat in the car with her coat wrapped around her as the temperature began to drop and darkness started to set in. "We need to get away from here. I know it, you know it, hell we all know it. It's been three hours already. They're not coming back."_

 _Jeremy took in a deep breath looking from the barrier to his sister who returned the look with a small, forced smile._

" _One of us needs to go back in." Tyler said as he came to stand beside Jeremy whose eyes snapped to him._

" _You're kidding, right?" Jeremy asked in a panicked voice. "We can't go back in, the damn barrier's gonna erase everything!" Tyler clenched his jaw._

" _Caroline, her mom and Matt are still in there, it's been 3 damn hours, we can go back or walk away."_

" _And who's gonna bite the bullet?" Damon asked flashing in front of the hybrid with an intense glare. Tyler met his glare head on and tilted his head looking from the barrier back to the older Salvatore._

" _I will." The hybrid said as he eyed the deceptively calm landscape behind the barrier, he pulled his hands into fists and took a shaky but resolute breath before striding determinedly towards the barrier..._

"It turned out that if the dead were killed within the barrier then they were eradicated permanently. Tyler didn't know much but he found Caroline's car crashed into a tree with Sheriff Forbes dead on the road. Caroline wasn't anywhere to be found." Klaus' heart hammered in his chest. "We tried looking around the barrier for as long as we could but the Travellers grew stronger, we had to leave..."

" _They're not coming back." Damon murmured running his hand down his face, the sky was pure black, only the moon and two flashlights lit the path for any on-comers. But there were none. It had already been an hour since the group had been forced back because of the expanding barrier. "They are_ not _coming back, face it."_

" _He's right." Elena's head snapped to her left hearing Stefan's voice as he approached them. "They're not coming back, Elena." He looked back at the barrier with an expressionless face, "We need to leave." He glanced at Damon who nodded._

" _No, no….just give it a few more minutes, they'll be here, all of them." Elena said desperately, Damon gritted his teeth and pulled Elena round to face him. He hated this, the moments were he knew that he would have to shatter all her hopes. But he'd rather see her in despair than dead. The latter was never an option._

" _They are_ gone, _Elena. They are_ not _coming back. We've waited hour after hour and all we've seen is this stupid barrier getting bigger and bigger. There is_ nothing _we can do but get out of here. There is_ nothing _left to wait for because_ no one _is coming back." His voice lost its hard edge as Damon watched his words finally settle into Elena's head, her eyes clouded over with water, he could feel her shoulders tense under his hold and hear the pulse quicken. He released slowly as Elena backed away from him and was taken into Jeremy's arms instead, he led her into the car as she began crying for those who hadn't returned, for those who were already dead and for those that were held in the unknown._

"…So she's…?" Klaus murmured hoping with all hope that Stefan wouldn't add any words, instead Stefan swallowed hard as he attempted to think of an answer but the words that flew from his mouth provided none.

"After a few days we ended up in Richmond. The Grill had been blown up taking the whole of Mystic Falls, the barrier, travellers and the undead with it, it was plastered all over the news. We looked through police reports but all the bodies where beyond identification." Stefan leaned back in his seat and ran his fingers through his styled hair, "We don't know if Matt and Caroline got out or if they died in the explosion." He murmured.

Klaus could feel his brain working overtime as he absorbed the details, part of him was accepting the facts and the other part was pushing them away not wanting to believe that Caroline was dead.

"Why didn't you call me?" He murmured tensely. His eyes which were previously locked onto the ground were now boring into Stefan's eyes. "Why was I not informed?" Stefan's frame sagged.

"And say what? Ask for your help in finding them, even if we did there was no way you would have been able to enter, even for a few more weeks there was still residue energy left over which could strip away the magic. We compelled a few people to look for them but the police had cleared everything away. There was _nothing_ left, Klaus. So why would we have called you?" He said tired of having to explain himself. "Besides, you had a child and a war to think about." Stefan and Klaus' eyes locked.

"How did-"

"Tyler told us. We also found out what he did, trying to hurt the baby, Caroline snapped his neck for that." He murmured remembering the flash of hurt that he had seen across Caroline's face before she pushed it back and focused on Tyler's actions. "Sure she disliked Hayley but she found someone who had hurt a pregnant woman even more disgusting." Klaus couldn't believe his ears, she had snapped the mutt's neck for _his_ child. "He nearly bit her and I punched him." Klaus felt a smile curve up on his lips.

"Thank you." He murmured with a smile though Stefan didn't return the gesture.

"Let's call it even." He said back gesturing towards Damon who was now asleep, Klaus nodded in agreement before his mind tracked back to Caroline.

"How long has she been missing?"

"17 years, it was a couple of months after you had left." He felt a sharp ache in his heart, _after he had left,_ he had abandoned her. Maybe if he had stayed she would be safe. But then he wouldn't have Hope.

"You should have called." Rebekah said in a hard voice, her obvious feelings for Matt still waning heavy in her heart. The blonde felt an icy shiver crawl up her spine as the idea of Matt being dead settled in her.

Elijah glance from his brother to his sister noting the range of emotions flash across their faces which were only obvious to himself as he had spent decades mastering the subtle tell-tale signs. His time in Mystic Falls had been limited and even during those periods he hadn't come across Matt or Caroline personally but they had arisen in conversations with Elena before Klaus had come to town to break his curse.

Klaus' fingers began to ache as he continued to dig them into the arms of his chair to prevent himself from snapping their necks, he knew _she_ wouldn't appreciate it. _But she's dea- No!_ He pursed his lips and let out a deep but shallow breath as he regained his composure. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with a tightening in his chest and the reminder that Hope wasn't here, she was in a town 5 hours away.

"If you'll excuse me." He said hoarsely before flashing into his room and grabbed his phone tapping out her number. It felt like hours for the dialling tone to pass and someone to pick up. "Hope?"

" _Hey dad"_ He couldn't help but release a breath as he leaned against the wall, " _what's up?"_ He rolled his eyes at her words but couldn't prevent the smile which spread across his lips.

"Nothing, I was calling to-"

" _Check up on me, yeah."_

"Is it against the law to ask how you are?" He heard her scoff over the phone.

" _No, but it's a bit annoying when you call me every 5 seconds. And even if it was against the law, you wouldn't let that stop you."_ Klaus smirked hearing her response.

"So, how is everything? Have you found the grimoire yet?"

* * *

 _ **Charleston**_

"Umm, we're getting there…" Hope said apprehensively as she ducked into the room Cassandra had shown her. "One sec, dad…" she whispered a privacy spell before placing the phone back against her ear, "so, you were saying?"

" _Why did you just do the privacy spell, Hope?"_ The blonde rolled her eyes, _stupid hybrid hearing._

"Because I don't want Sophie or her cousin to be listening in, you taught me to be aware of my surroundings, right?" She heard him sigh over the line.

" _Right. Have you gotten any closer yet?"_ She walked towards the window which gave her the perfect view of the city which continued to bloom before her eyes.

"Most definitely." She murmured, her thoughts becoming lost in the rush of the city and vivid colours which were everywhere.

" _So how long?"_ Hope blinked rapidly at his question and bit her lip as her eyes caught Caroline stepping out of her car and returning. There was so much she still needed to do.

"It might take the whole week."

" _What?"_ Hope winced as she heard her father.

"Well, it turns out that the grimoire is hidden amongst a whole set of books. And we need to translate it as well, you know what witches can be like, dad." She could make out him grumbling under his breath. "Look, we'll try to be done as soon as possible, ok." She said trying to pacify her father before he decided to bring himself and the entire family down.

" _Fine."_ She bit back the sigh of relief, " _Hand the phone to Sophie, sweetheart."_ Hope's eyes widened as she heard his words and then the footsteps which came towards her room, her senses picked up the scent of lavender with a hint of jasmine coming closer to the room.

"Uh…dad, she's a bit busy right now, look, I'll call back in a bit-" Hope bit her lip as she heard a growl emanate from the earpiece

" _Hope!"_

"Promise, I'll call you later but I've got to go, Sophie's cousin is calling me."

" _Hop-"_

"Love you." The blonde ended the call before Klaus could get another word in, she sped over to the bed were her suitcase was half open and grabbed a shirt as she reversed the privacy spell just as the door was pushed open by Cassandra wearing a shy smile.

"Hey." Hope looked over her shoulder with a wide smile before placing the crumpled shirt to the side.

"Hey, Cass," Hope noticed the raw pink tint which stretched across the corner of Cassandra's lower lip, "what's up?" Cassandra bit the pale pink corner of her lip as she gestured for Hope to follow her out of the room.

Narrowing her eyes confusedly, Hope followed with her senses on high alert ready to come up with an excuse if someone had found out about where she came from and _who_ she was, but her senses buzzed anew when she caught sight of the group of men and women who had entered the Citadelle.

Hope placed her hands on the balcony and looked over to see Caroline sitting at the head of the round table as the group followed and seated themselves one by one, the young blonde hybrid's eyes flew around the Citadelle to see eyes locked onto the proceedings on the ground floor, some vampires sped down to join Caroline and stand behind her whilst others watched from where they were already positioned. Immediately, silence fell.

"What's happening?" Hope whispered to Cassandra only to be quietened by a shake of the girl's head, Hope's brow furrowed in confusion before Cassandra tilted her head towards the round table where Caroline had proceeded to address the group.

"I've called this meeting to inform you all of the change in leadership of the Eriksson clan," murmurs sprung around the room, causing Hope to try to pick up the words but failing as Caroline quietened them down, "I'm well aware that the treaty we currently hold with the werewolves will come under question, however let me assure you, no such thing will happen. The Eriksson pack have decided to pass down the alpha status from Abel Eriksson to his son, Jessie Eriksson following the decline in their alpha's health." Caroline allowed her words to echo through the grand room, the people around the table glanced at each other.

Caroline sat back in her chair awaiting for someone to speak their mind, she knew such news would cause problems within the community, the main problem being-

"Jessie isn't Abel's true heir, won't that cause a problem between the packs?" asked Beatrice, a middle aged witch with shimmering grey hair that framed her face. Caroline lifted her chin.

"No." Her voice was strong making sure that the simple renouncement of the question was heard by everyone, "The rightful heir is Jessie just as Abel has named him to be, it will be announced to the neighbouring packs at the grand _soir_ within in the week."

" _Grand soir_?" Hope whispered in confusion, Cassandra mouthed 'later' in compromise of an explanation, the girls both looked back down to see Caroline set her elbows on the table and link her hands together in front of her face as she leaned forward.

"Should we be worried about fights between the packs," asked Ben, "I mean, its one thing to say that everything will be sorted and we have nothing to worry about, it's another to actually implement an understanding." Caroline clicked her tongue,

"I've taken their word for it." Caroline's articulation remained crystal clear with a hard edge, "I do not tolerate lies, you all know this. There will be no war or any fights between packs, it will be a clear cut ascent on Jessie's behalf. Nothing more, nothing less."

"What does that mean for us?" Caroline sighed.

"At the end of this week there will be a meeting between all of the factions. A new declaration will be drawn up and all faction leaders, including myself, will sign it to accept the leadership changes within the Eriksson clan." The blonde's eyes glanced around the table, "If there are members who have a problem with that then they are free to leave Charleston." Her eyes bored into each and everyone's eyes as they heard her orders. "Clear?" She gained a unanimous nod. "Good." She pushed herself away from the table, "So…whose in a party mood?" She smirked gaining smiles and chuckles from everyone in the building, a couple of teenage wolves whooped as they upped the ante. Caroline shook her head but couldn't help the giggle that escaped her as she watched everyone begin chatting amongst themselves and planning the evenings events.

Hope exhaled slowly wondering how the hell these people went from a serious meeting to party animals. "So, what are you wearing for tonight?" the blonde was pulled from her thoughts as Cass's voice drew her out, Hope blinked rapidly as she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. "You _do_ know what's happening tonight, don't you?" Hope shook her head tensing up at Cass's tone. "The first night of the street festivals, of course." Hope relaxed, being the Original hybrid's daughter meant she had to constantly be alert to her surroundings and those around her, her father had taught her to remain on her guard and _never_ let it down. A definite downer when you're supposed to be a teenager and live a _normal_ life- _well, as normal as it could get when you're a weird, malfunctioning hybrid,_ Hope grimaced as she heard herself, _malfunctioning_ was exactly what she was. "Hope!" Her eyes shot up to see Cass staring at her with worry,

"Just blanked out, sorry." The Hybrid murmured before pushing all her negative thoughts back and focusing on the witch standing in front of her as well as the words said witch had spoken, "Wait! A _street festival?"_

"Yep." Cass said with ease popping the 'p' as she spoke. "Now, what are you gonna wear?" Hope bit her lip as she shook her head.

"I...I don't know." Cass grinned and grabbed the blonde's hand to lead her back to Hope's room.

"Good thing I found out when I did." Cassandra picked up a skirt from the open suitcase on Hope's bed, "Mmm, this is cute," her hand reached out again and picked up a white baby doll dress, "but _this_ is much better." She flashed a big smile at Hope who returned the grin with ease as they began rummaging through the clothes.

"Cass?"

"Hmm?" Hope furrowed her brow glancing from the closed bedroom door to the girl beside her.

"What was Caroline talking about before?" Cass lowered the jumpsuit she had been holding up, "And who were the people sitting with her?"

"The alpha of the wolf clan is dying. The tradition is that once the alpha makes it known he's nearing the end of his life, the next blood member of his family will ascend to the position of alpha." Hope nodded following her words, Jackson had mentioned something like this briefly but had immediately changed the subject after Hope's curiosity grew and she began questioning what would happen to his and her mother's positions if there had to be a change in the leadership. "But it's also the moment when a pack is at its weakest, the transition gives other clan alphas a chance to take over the former pack." Hope tilted her head as she tried to get her head around the situation, seeing Hope's confusion she spelt it out. "The moment Abel renounces his title the surrounding wolf clans have a prime opportunity to challenge the newbie alpha."

"So if the challenger wins he gets total control of the pack." Hope let out a puff of air, "Well…no pressure to the next in line, right?" Hope let out a nervous laugh.

"There isn't a next in line." Cassandra stated as she pushed a hoard of clothes aside and laid out three outfits whilst Hope shook her head finding herself completely lost again. "Jessie, the one Abel has named as the next alpha, he isn't Abel's real son. Abel and his wife, Isabelle, took him in when they found him abandoned, they raised him as their own," Hope found herself lost in all the information Cass was providing and became oblivious to the task at hand of picking out some party clothes, "they can't have children of their own, they tried but it just never happened I guess." Cass shrugged her shoulders before picking up a modest pale pink dress that hit the top of the knees, Hope shook her head obliviously as Cass nodded and placed it aside.

"So that'd cause problems, wouldn't it?" Cass glanced down to a dark blue skirt which she paired with a white top, "Jessie not being the alpha's 'true' son." Hope said.

"Yeah it would. Including the Eriksson clan there are a total of 3 wolf packs in the city: Baltimore, Eriksson and Silverback. Naming Jessie as the next leader would cause outrage, hell it could even start a war between them-"

"So how do you stop that from happening?" Hope had never heard of something like this occurring, in all her stays at the Bayou with the wolves none of them had uttered a word about wars between wolf clans but that didn't mean wolf wars didn't exist.

"We don't." Cass said with a small smile as Hope furrowed her brow, "There aren't wars to stop in the first place, Caroline and the Consort ensure they don't happen-"

" _Consort_?" Hope murmured wondering what kind of medieval century she had walked into.

"All the faction leaders." Hope nodded in understanding. "You heard the meeting downstairs between the factions, there is a declaration slash agreement in place which each faction lives by. It keeps the city safe and any risks to a minimum."

"So each faction gets an equal say." Cass nodded confirming Hope's words. The blonde's mind raced back to New Orleans as she thought of the factions there. There was a brittle agreement between all of them even to this day, easily breakable but never to be questioned. She had witness her family's first hand cruelty to people breaking the rules, but she couldn't blame the offenders really. There were too many loopholes and cracks in the so-called agreement to count. Not mention that there was no real loyalty between the factions, the witches hated the vampires, the vampires hated wolves and vice-versa while the humans-those who knew of the supernatural-lived in fear whilst those who weren't aware were hit with paranoia everyday as humans disappeared for hours and returned with no 'true' memory of where they had been.

Hope scoffed internally and couldn't believe how New Orleans hadn't collapsed or crumbled yet. "How do you know all this?"

"My grandma is quite the gossiper, you want any info she's the one you go to. She taught me to keep my eyes and ears open to anything and everything. She raised me." Cass's voice trailed off.

"She raised you? What about your parents?" The red-haired witch shrugged her shoulders.

"They died when I was 5," she scoffed and shook her head, seeing Hope look at her curiously she continued, "My Grams said they died of 'natural causes' but everyone knows they were killed."

"Killed?"

"From what I've figured out is that they both refused to do something for a vampire and he killed them but everyone plays it off, when I ask my Grams she changes the subject and tells me not to get involved." Hope bit her cheek, she could imagine what it must be like to lose your parents at such a young age and have people lie to you constantly.

"So how did you figure out it was a vampire?" Hope asked as she sat down on the bed fully immersed in the story.

"When I was 14 my gramps began teaching me magic, me being me, I began reading ahead. Delving a lot deeper than I should have. I found a spell, a way for me to look into a specific event and I chose my parents' death to find out what really happened. I couldn't see his face but I know it was a vampire, the way he moved…," Hope watched Cass slowly sit on the bed as she lost herself in the memory, "…it was _so_ fast and," she took a shaky breathe, "his teeth, he ripped into their throats and sucked all the blood out. He wanted something from them, some information about a stone. I still remember his voice, it was so…cold" Cassandra blinked rapidly as she was brought back, "I don't hate vampires Hope." She said as she saw the blonde ready to ask the question, "That was _one_ in a thousand. I've met 50 vampires worth a hundred more than that one _monster._ "

Hope nodded and couldn't help but reach out and softly squeeze Cass' hand in comfort. "Anyway," Cass started as she looked down at the dress in her hands, "how 'bout this one?" She held up Hope's powder blue skater dress with a scoop neckline. Hope couldn't help but smirk as the memory when she had first worn the dress hit her.

" _I'm going to see Davina, I'll be back in a bit-"Hope's words were cut off as her dad flashed in front of her and looked her up and down with judging eyes._

" _Not dressed like that you're not." Hope sighed clearly showing her frustration._

" _Everything else is in the wash, I'm wearing this." She tried sidestepping Klaus but he stood in front of her blocking the way._

" _Well then, you can't go see Davina."_

" _Dad I'm 17, you can't control me-"_

" _I'm your father, of course I can." Hope gritted her teeth and crossed her arms._

" _I'm going and you can't stop me." Klaus raised his eyebrows._

" _Sweetheart, I'm the Original-"_

" _Hybrid, I've lived for nearly two-thousand years and can have an army of hybrids come and stop you with the snap of my fingers." Hope imitated her father's words in a perfect English accent causing Klaus to chuckle as he heard her._

" _Well, then we both know that I'm right, now you either go and change or you can't go at all."_

" _Why?" Hope groaned._

" _Because you're my daughter and I'm not having you walk the streets dressed as a strumpet, believe me that's your aunt Rebekah's job." Hope pushed the smiling threatening to escape her lips back down as she narrowed her eyes. "Change. Now." Hope huffed and stamped her feet back up to her bedroom whilst Klaus returned to his study where he took a sip of his bourbon._

 _The joys of parenthood._

"Yeah, that one's perfect." Hope murmured taking it from Cass's hands as she looked up at the red-head. "What are _you_ gonna wear?" Cassandra bit her lip and shrugged her shoulder, Hope smirked and pushed her clothes to the middle as she begun to sort through them. "How about you wearing something like this?" Hope picked up the cream baby-doll dress she had seen her friend eyeing in admiration. "Go on, try it." Grinning Cass plucked the dress from her fingers and looked at it longingly.

"Thanks Hope." The blonde shrugged.

"Well, what are friends for." The girls shared a smile as Cass proceeded to enter the en-suite and change. Hope felt a light warmth expand in her chest and couldn't help the feeling of belonging begin to spread, the blonde was drawn out of her thoughts as the door opened to reveal a shy looking Cassandra. "You look amazing."

"Really?" Cass asked nibbling her lip as she moved closer.

"Absolutely," Hope grinned as she grabbed her hair curlers and waved them, "now how about we do your hair…"

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

"You know Caroline is literally going to kill you, right?" Bonnie said as she watched Kol's lips turn up into a grin as he sauntered into _Envy_ whilst the ebony skinned with followed behind.

"We both know Carebear loves me, I've got vampire reflexes anyway meaning she's gonna get _you_ before she gets _me."_ Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Caroline loves me, she only _tolerates_ you. And we both know I'm her favourite." Kol took Bonnie's hand in his as he led her down the dark stairs towards a door plaster with 'staff only' signs, ignoring it, the dark jazz bass resonated towards them as they opened the door and strode in determinedly.

"At least we'll be in hell together once she does kill us." Kol whispered into Bonnie's ear earning a devious smile from the witch, ignoring the writhing bodies around them and rich melodies surrounding them, they made their way into the dark corner where a door stood having been pushed ajar, entering the dark room Bonnie pushed it closed behind them, stepping forth she eyed the entire room, she could feel Kol's burning gaze running over her.

"So….everyone ready for tonight?" Bonnie's sharp voice resounded in the room echoing off the walls.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later…**_

Katherine span round giving her back to the mirror and eyeing herself before she smirked, "You know you look hot, now can we go or do you and the mirror need a few more hours alone."

"Hmm, nope, I'm good, I do look fabulous though." Katherine said as she glanced at Caroline. "Mmm, very…," she looked at the blonde wearing black skinny jeans paired with her leather jacket and a pale top underneath, "…non-party-ish."

The blonde rolled her eyes and the comment, "That's because I won't be staying for the party, I'll be there for the beginning then I've got to go visit a friend, I'll be back later though." Katherine's lips curved up.

"A _friend?"_ Caroline opened her mouth to protest but was already shut down by Katherine who flipped her tight curls over her shoulder and shrugged. "Fine, if you want to go gallivanting off to see this mysterious _friend_ , then don't let me stop you. But you're giving me all the details as soon as you get back." The brunette stalked past the blonde and descended the stairs in an elegant fashion almost making Caroline snort with laughter at her pretence. As if she read her mind, Katherine glared at the blonde, "Hey! I can be sophisticated when I want."

"Translation: when I can be bothered otherwise I'll act like any other street hussy."

" _Hussy?_ 13 years and you've finally picked up the lingo, I nearly mistook you for a native." Caroline rolled her eyes, "Talking about natives, the new blonde were-witch, I'm getting an off-sort of vibe from her…like she…" Katherine found it difficult to find the right word.

"Doesn't belong?" Caroline said in a questioning tone earning a nod from the brunette as they left the house and made their way to the car.

"It just doesn't feel right." Caroline licked her dry lips and pushed the thought away.

"Look, she's new, everyone in this town we already know so of course she's gonna give off a weird vibe, just give her a chance. I'm sure being half witch and wolf has been difficult. I don't think she's had the most normal of lives back home either."

"What do you mean?" Katherine asked starting up the car.

"She doesn't go to school, I don't think she's ever been. Her uncle home-schools her." Katherine pursed her lips as she turned towards the Citadelle.

"So you think she's lacking friends?" Caroline pressed her lips together.

"I think she's lacking _life."_ The blonde murmured as they pulled up along the Citadelle. "But she might just find her place here." Caroline whispered as she entered to see Hope sitting beside Cassandra with a few other people including Ben as they listened Matt who was speaking of his adventures across Australia and diving off the Grand Canyon.

"-And I was there wondering when the hell I was supposed to open the parachute, and this is all whilst I'm hurtling into the ground, past rocks and _talking_ to Caroline on the phone whilst she was asking if her nails looked better in pink or light blue!" A chorus of laughter and chuckles rang out.

"So what happened?" Hope asked curiously as she edged closer.

"I tried telling her I was literally jumping to my death but would she listen? _No!_ She kept telling me to choose a colour but before I could I dropped the phone and it got smashed into tiny smithereens, the worst thing is-"

"I'm never going to let it go." Caroline said cutting in, "I must say jumping of the Grand Canyon is a poor excuse for not knowing my colour palette, shame on you Donovan."

"It wasn't an excuse." Matt said adamantly as he raised his hands.

"Come on Matty, you can admit it, picking between blue and pink, it was kind of a hard question. We all understand why you got flustered." Katherine replied teasing him as a faux-pout was painted across her lips. Caroline shook her head with a giggle as she walked back towards the car and opened the boot.

Hope watched Caroline open the boot and her eyes widened as a dirty blonde haired dog jumped out and entered the building, its ears were peaked up to sharp points as its hazel eyes looked around and focused on the group in the middle. Swishing its tail it gallantly strode towards them before its eyes locked onto the centre of the group and it set off into a run hurtling towards them. Hope backed away slightly never having been this close to a dog before, she held her breath as she watched the creature come to a halt and lift its front paws onto Matt's knees where he begun to lick the vampire's cheek.

"Woah Max, give a man a chance will you!" Matt exclaimed as the dog, Max, let out a roaring bark, "I've missed you too." Matt said in a softer tone as he ran his fingers through Max' shaggy dark blonde fur which contained black streaks running from his neck towards his tail.

"Aww come on Max, here I thought I was your favourite man." Ben said faking a hurt look as he reached out towards Max' jaw where the dog licked his hand in a friendly and accepting gesture.

"Please tell me this cutie is going to be with us all night," Laurie asked as she let her hand run along his head into the depths of his fur, Max basked in the warm feeling as he was enveloped in love and care.

"Really though, he's the best wingman ever, did you see me score with that chick last week, I've got to say, he certainly knows how to win over a ladies' heart." Jessie said rubbing his hands into Max's neck whilst he preened at the attention he received.

Hope's eyes were locked onto the dirty-blonde animal as he held his head up high and moved around the circle as people reached out to brush their fingers through his soft hair, she felt a nudge on her left and saw Cass mouth 'sorry' before the red-head continued to reach out towards the dog who pawed it's way closer to her.

"Ahh, I see. It seems Maxy-boy here has a thing for redheads." Matt murmured with a sly grin as Max determinedly licked Cassandra's hand and rubbed his back under her palm.

"Hey, shut up Matt." She threw towards him trying to suppress a grin as the former raised his hands as if he was wondering what she meant but couldn't control the deep chuckle he released fully well knowing what the girl was referring to.

"I didn't say anything."

"Yeah but you were thinking it." Cass sassed back as Max's eyes turned to Hope who tried to shrink back from the dog but froze as he fully turned towards her and tilted his head as if he was assessing her.

"Max, this is Hope." Caroline said lightly from behind as she watched Max edge closer towards her, "Hope meet Maximus Charleston the third." Hope bit her lip as he lowered his face towards her hand and rubbed his cheek along her skin. The blonde felt goose bumps ripple across her flesh at the feeling of Max's featherlike fur. "Or Max for short."

Hope turned her hand up letting her fingers caress his ear slightly, her lips turned up into a gentle smile as the dog whimpered delightfully at Hope's touch, closing his eyes he laid his head on her knees and rubbed his cheek against her lap before settling as Hope ran her fingers over the top of his head back down to his muzzle. "Max." Hope whispered getting a feel for his name but also causing him to peak his head up at her curiously. The blonde was mesmerised by the light blue eyes which held a grey lilt to them. "He's yours?" She asked glancing at Caroline who smirked and shrugged.

"Well he _was_ until a certain _someone,"_ her eyes fell on Katherine, "proclaimed him as her own." Katherine gave her a sharp smile in return before it dropped and she rolled her eyes.

"l saved him, spending time with Miss Sunshine made him such a puppy." Looking back at Max she could see what the brunette meant, his body was built for strength, the way his back was ridged under his fur clearly emphasised the power in his muscles. His teeth were like blades, canines fully elongated and able to tear into anything. Hope knew if she had seen him by himself she would have mistaken him for a wolf.

"Hey-"Caroline protested but was immediately cut off by Katherine.

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist." Caroline raised her perfectly curved eyebrow before a smirk appeared on her lips, Katherine narrowed her eyes, "What's got you grinning like an evil stepmom?"

"Oh nothing," the blond said nonchalantly as she grazed her fingers through Max's fur, "Just wondering whether you're willing to share your bed covers with anyone else or if it's just Max who gets to sleep next to you." Katherine stared wide-eyed at her. "Yep, I saw you last night, here's a hint: shut the door _fully_ before you go to sleep."

Katherine's jaw dropped, murmurs were whispered around them as the others winced at Caroline's words knowing they were harsh. "Wow…," Katherine began, "…I'm…I'm impressed," she eyed the blond up and down before nodding at her, "You're getting more like me every day."

"And isn't that a scary thought."

" _Please,_ we all know you love me."

Hope grinned at the words being throw between the two women, she couldn't help but giggle at Katherine's fierce attitude, if she had met her any other way she'd have probably wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.

The hybrid was thrown off her thoughts when she felt a buzzing tremor run through her leg, she cursed internally before pulling her hand away from Max and easing him off her before she slid off the seat. Taking her phone out the blonde looked up and saw various eyes on her.

"Sorry, I'll be right back." She gestured to the vibrating phone and flashed back to her room and answered knowing exactly who would be on the other end. "Dad."

" _Hope, you know that if someone else had ended our previous call as abruptly as our did-"_

"You'd get a witch to find them and burn them for making you waste your time," she popped out her hip placing her hand on it as if she was speaking to her father face to face, "What's your point?"

" _Never hang up on me Hope unless you want me to come get you and bring you back to the mansion where you'll remain for any further expeditions you want to take. Clear?"_

Hope rolled her eyes, "Of course, dad." She said in a dull tone, "Was there anything else?" She asked wanting to get things cleared up as quickly as possible so she could return back downstairs.

" _Can't I just call to talk to my favourite daughter?"_ Hope scoffed.

"I'm your _only_ daughter."

" _Nik! I'm going to shove a white oak stake up your-"_ Hope clicked her tongue as she heard her aunt yell at her father, it was a daily occurrence in the Mikaelson household.

" _Do be quiet sister, I'm trying to talk to my daughter!"_ She heard Klaus snarl back at his sister.

" _Hey sweetheart, your dad's going to have to call you back-"_

"It's fine, I've got to go anyway…uh" Hope bit her lip and ran her fingers through her hair trying to come up with an excuse, "Sophie's taking us out so I might not be able to pick up later. I'll call you when I can."

" _Bye Hope."_

" _Rebek-"_ Hope rolled her eyes before hanging up, taking a deep breath she made her way back downstairs to see everyone dispersed around the room with Max striding beside Cassandra as she made her way up the stairs.

"Cass!" Hope said loudly catching the red-head's attention as she followed the girl up the steps, "So...what happens now?" Cassandra smirked and grabbed Hope's hand dragging her along towards a set of double doors, the witch pushed the doors open and the blonde's jaw dropped at the sight before her…

* * *

Caroline pursed her lips as she leaned against her car with her arms crossed, the sun had begun to set allowing entrance to the pink hues that graced the skies, her eyes scanned the field before she saw the one she was here for. The blonde pushed herself away from her car to amble across the grass bypassing the straggle of people who were either making their way towards the centre of the field like Caroline was or standing idly by to gossip with those around them.

Caroline couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips as she saw the football hurtle towards the boy only to be caught steadily and thrown back with as much power as it had come with. A whistle blew loudly announcing the end of the session, a tall man clapped his hands commanding their attention, his light grey hair wisped across his forehead, he spoke a few encouraging words and dismissed them all with a giant smile on his aged features.

The blonde came to a slow stop before tilting her face and waiting to be picked out from the people who were now steadily walking past her, a grin graced her features as her cornflower blue orbs met hazelnut coloured eyes. Even in the darkening scene, his features were so clear. Finding her face in the crowds made him beam, he grabbed his bag from the grass and ran towards her with a giant grin.

"Auntie Care!" He shouted as he got closer and eventually wrapped his arms around her waist holding her tightly, she welcomed the embrace returning it with equal passion before placing a kiss on his light brown hair. "Mom said you'd be here today, how long are you staying for? Remember that kid, Jake, I totally kicked his butt at football. Did you see that last throw I did, I knocked it out of the park!" The young boy babbled continuously earning a giggle from the blonde as she picked up his bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Hello to you too, buddy." She ruffled his hair before placing her hand around his shoulder and leading him towards her car, "I most certainly did see that throw, sweetie. When's your next game?"

"In two weeks." He looked up at her with sparkling wide eyes, he bit his lip and began fidgeting before straightening and releasing a huff of air. "I'm quarterback this time…" he said softly, the blond glanced down at him.

"You don't need to be nervous, buddy." She said as she opened the door for him to get into the car, she buckled him up and placed his bag next to her, kneeling she caught his eyes, "Seriously, I've seen you play a hundred times, you're the best player on your team. And _that_ is a fact. You're going to ace it." She reassured him before walking round to her side and getting in.

"Aunt Care, how long are you staying today?"

"Just for a couple of hours," she saw his features lose their spark slowly before ruffling his hair again causing him to look up at her, "but…I've got something special for you." His eyes gained that spark again and he bounced up and down in his seat.

"What?" He said gleaming, Caroline shook her head lightly.

"All in good time, little bear." He rolled his eyes, a habit Caroline realised he had most likely picked up from her.

"Can I have a clue?" The blonde put the car in drive and shook her head.

"Nope. I'll show you when you get home, your mom's made some of that special spaghetti that we both love so much."

"But Care…" he whined leaning back in his seat, Caroline smirked before turning on the radio blasting the music in the car, the boy beside her was drawn from his nearly sulky mood into a giddy bounce as he nodded along to the beat and stared out of the window.

The blond glanced over at the young brunette boy, he continued to watch the streets pass by as they drove.

"Venice?" The boy exclaimed turning to look at the blond who shook her head and giggled.

"Nope." The boy pouted, seeing the look on his face Caroline relented.

"Somewhere in Asia, that's the only clue you're getting." The boy furrowed his brow wondering about her words before a spark hit him and he grinned.

"Thailand?"

Caroline rolled her eyes in amusement and disbelief but refused to answer him. "It is, isn't it?" Caroline kept her eyes on the grassland which they had turned onto, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"It's a _surprise._ "

"I hate surprises." He moaned crossing his arms over his chest.

"You _love_ surprises." Caroline replied as she parked the car and got out picking the boy's bag up with her as she went round and opened the car door for the brunette kid. "Come on," she gestured placing her hand out for him which he took after rolling his eyes.

"I'm not a baby." He whined as Caroline led him towards a big house-like cabin.

"You could have fooled me." She teased him knocking the door lightly gripping the bag in her hand.

The door opened revealing a young woman with light brown hair and evergreen eyes, her face lit up as she pulled the door open wider allowing the boy to wrap his arms around her thin waist and skip past her.

"Make sure you put your kit in the wash!" She shouted over her shoulder before gesturing for Caroline to come in.

"Hey Care,"

"Maria, he's gotten taller." The woman smiled fondly gazing after the boy as she took the bag from Caroline and set it down next to the wall. "How's everything?"

"Perfect." Caroline looked at her in disbelief, "Really, everything's going fine, you shouldn't worry like that you'll get wrinkles." Caroline laughed as Maria led her through into the dining area where Caroline saw a tanned brunette setting the table.

"Wow, you've got him well trained then, I wonder how long it would take." The man chuckled sarcastically.

"Very funny, Care," he said setting the last plate down as he moved closer and embraced her tightly. "It's good to see you again." He said feeling her warmth, she pulled away and nodded with a wide smile.

"You too, it'-"

"Spaghetti!" The brunette boy came rushing in having changed into his pyjamas, in his hands was a thin chestnut box which he slid onto the table. "I want spaghetti!" He exclaimed before dragging Caroline across towards the box and lifting the lid to reveal lines of coins neatly labelled with places from around the world. "Look." Caroline watched the boy as he explained. "You said Asia, the only place left in Asia is…" he tapped the empty slot, "Thailand."

Relenting, Caroline dug into her pocket feigning confusion, "It's not in here." She said shocked before her lips curved into a smile as she reached behind the little boy's ear and drew her fingers back a silver lined gold coin. "Here we go…" she murmured handing the coin into the boy's upturned palms.

" _A 10 baht coin…"_ he whispered looking at it in awe, "wow…" he murmured staring at it intently, Caroline grinned finding herself draw towards his happy aura as she ruffled his soft brown hair. "Thanks aunt Care." He exclaimed hugging her tightly as Caroline returned wrapping her arms around the boy.

"Come on Mason, sit down otherwise you're not getting any of this _delicious_ spaghetti-"

"Woah, woah, mom. Easy on the threats." He said thrusting himself into his seat at the table and awaiting his food.

Maria rolled her eyes as she handed him a plate full of the noodles which he began covering in tomato and basil sauce creating a pool of it on his plate before he dug into it spearing through with his fork. The brunette woman safely tucked the box away before sitting down beside her husband as Caroline sat beside Mason. "You spoil him, Care." Maria spoke causing Mason to adamantly shake his head making Caroline laugh as he disagreed with his mom.

"How's the city?" the man asked looking at her carefully as she shrugged.

"Good, we haven't had any trouble come in," Caroline faltered as she remembered the blond teenager who had come all the way down from Louisiana before she shook away the thought and focused. "Everything's been great."

"That's good," the man murmured as he tilted his head watching Caroline carefully, "You know you can come here anytime, right?"

Caroline smiled at the couple, "I know." Caroline played pushed the noodles on her plate, she could feel a dark cloud hover over her. Maybe trouble was heading her way.

The room had fell silent, the man glanced at his wife who seemed worried about the quiet blonde, feeling her aura darken, he set his fork down and looked at Caroline.

"We'll always be here for you. You know that right?" He murmured keeping his voice low as to keep his son unaware. Caroline gave them a tight smile as she nodded.

"Thanks Tyler…" Feeling the dark mood settle on the table she pushed it away and plastered a smile across her lips before changing the subject. "What about you, little man, which city do you want next?" She asked Mason who became giddy and began debating which city he would like the next coin to come from…

 **So…how was it?**

 **For the Katherine pairing, I think I'm going to go with Katherine/OC (who hasn't been written yet) but they'll be making their appearance** _ **after**_ **Elijah and Katherine meet again. I may be swayed to make it Kalijah paring after the OC makes an appearance but as of now Katherine/OC will be the main side-pairing aside from Kennett.**

 **See you next time…:D**


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to everyone who has had the patience to bare with me on this one, it's definitely been a while but I've just got to say that your responses make me want to continue writing.

 **Alessandra.12:** _ **You're right Klaus definitely needs Caroline in New Orleans, Klaus will definitely be jealous of Kol and Caroline's closeness but he'll want to know how Kol is alive and why he never shared the news with the rest of the Mikaelsons. All I'm going to say is that there are going to be some pretty explosive scenes involving Kol and the other Mikaelsons about everything that has happened.**_

 **jordanbear:** _ **I absolutely love your long reviews, they make me aware of bits and pieces of this story that I hadn't actually thought about before. I'm ecstatic that you believe I'm a good writer, I've deliberately kept you in the dark about what's happened but all will be revealed eventually in pieces.**_

 _ **Yes Caroline is friends with Tyler and she is also an aunt to his son Mason but I didn't necessarily say that no one else can't know about it. You'll find out who knows and who doesn't in a chapter or two.**_

 _ **Did Klaus kill Cass' parents...hmm...I knew people would jump straight at Klaus to be behind the deaths but it would be a bit too obvious if he was behind it, wouldn't it?**_

 _ **Kol and Caroline's relationship will be explored in a few chapters, I still need to get the wheels spinning for the background of the story first and then we'll delve further into how close characters are.**_

 _ **I completely agree, what the wolf-girl said at the beginning was uncalled for, Hope was born into her position I guess, she's the heir to the wolf clans and a supernatural princess but the isolation she feels is pretty evident and that's what's going to strengthen her ties with others in Charleston. No one knows who she is and she can build her own relationships without having to hold the position of supernatural princess over her head.**_

 **FraryFreakObessed:** _ **If Kalijah happens, it will definitely be a slow process, building up a constant 500 year on/off trust will be hard work and throw on top of that an entire city and problems and new discoveries it's going to be a mess.**_

 **Guest (7/12/15):** _ **As of now Freya and Dahlia are not going to be in this but I may change my mind once we get deeper into the story. Klaroline reunion may take a while sorry but I'll be doing pov's for everything that's happening in Charleston and New Orleans and since Klaus is now wondering what happened to Caroline be sure to have him try to find her.**_

 **HouseOfBellarke:** _ **You're right, Caroline can't make it to Vancouver in one night. A lot can change in 17 years...wouldn't Caroline tell Elena herself that she's alive...? Unless of course something happened and they don't share the relationship they once had.**_

 **Hiba Syria:** _ **I haven't watched TVD since 5x03 I think and I've only seen one episode of TO so anything that happened after what I've seen will not feature in this. But I may have some tiny glimpses of information in here but nothing too important I think so the Phoenix Stone will not be mentioned in this story. Continue to ask me as many questions as you want, I love hearing what you think about the story and what theories you've got :D**_

 **Hellzz-on-Earth:** _ **I'll be bringing the OC in once Katherine and Elijah meet again and let me just say now that the OC won't just be a random person, Katherine and the OC will have a pretty deep bond I guess. Tyler and Caroline after Mystic Falls...yep, I wanted to throw in an extra dynamic to the story seeing as Caroline and Klaus meeting in a new city and falling in love seemed a bit too simple. This story is definitely going to be filled with unexpected turns. About Tyler, you'll find out who knows about him and who doesn't in a chapter or two.**_

 **LoveOfAVampire:** _ **Cass' parents death is down to one of the characters, it's not a little tid-bit I've placed in randomly, it may be Enzo...or not...I can't give away all my secrets but try to think of a few more characters who could be responsible...I'm actually undecided at the moment about anyone finding out about Hope before the big reveal, it would certainly change the direction of the story is someone found out before but...hmmm...there may be a small possibility. Stefan, Damon and Elena are going to be mentioned a few more times but will become permanent fixtures later on. I won't be mentioning anything major that has happened in TO or any characters that appeared after season 1. From TVD there won't be any new characters mentioned in here except for Enzo.**_

 **I hope you enjoy this one, don't forget to tell me what you think :D**

"Now…we party!" Cassandra exclaimed as she skipped across towards the ledge of the balcony, Hope leaned over the ledge, her eyes widened as she observed at the sapphire blue sky which was being lit with fireworks and fairy lights.

"Wow…" the blond whispered as she watched the streets fill with people and street vendors, the roads were illuminated. "What the…" Hope gasped as she leaned over the balcony to see a woman throw red specks of dust into the air before blowing them away only to have a giant scarlet dragon's head erupt from the dust and soar into the sky. "Holy shit!" Hope exclaimed as she clutched to the balcony and watched in amazement.

"Girls!" The both looked over their shoulders to see Katherine dressed in a shimmery red bodycon dress paired with night black stilettos. "What the hell are you both doing here when the party's down there?" She raised her brow as she stood with her hand on her hip.

Hope swallowed as she saw Katherine's stern features and dark eyes shooting daggers at her, the brunette saw the fear in the blonde's eyes and rolled her eyes. "Come on." She smirked as she gestured towards the doors, Cassandra let out a shy smile as she moved back through the doors as Hope followed only to have Katherine rest her hand against the blonde's arm. "Grow a backbone, Blondie, if you keep having that look of fear in your eyes, the wolves are going to eat you up for breakfast." She murmured into her ear before patting her arm gently and striding down the steps.

Hope bit her lip, the woman put the fear of the devil into her bones and yet her words rang incredibly true. _You're the Original hybrid's daughter, start acting like it!_ The blond straightened her back and painted a smirk across her face as she stepped down the stairs, she caught sight of her reflection in one of the mirrors and frowned, _Ok, maybe we've got to work on that smirk._

"Come on, Hope!" Cassandra said as she smoothed her dress and made her way towards the open doors of the citadel.

Hope bit her lip as she followed, "Let's party." She whispered as she walked through the doors into the vibrant streets merging with the hoard of people going past her, Cass grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Follow me…" She said over the booming music as she led Hope into the midst of the celebrations.

* * *

"I need to talk to you." Caroline murmured as she flicked her eyes towards Marie making sure the woman was occupied with Mason.

Tyler observed Caroline's features carefully, finding no glimmer to hint at what was running through her mind, he set his plate quietly into the sink and eyed her carefully before she turned her head back to meet his gaze.

In the years that had come to pass both had come to the realisation that there was only a handful of people either could trust with the secrets they each held. Caroline soon became one of the very few beings the brunette trusted and vice-versa. The blond was the first Tyler had told about Maria and also the first to find out about Mason. The only two precious treasures of his life.

They had lost touch for a while after the events 17 years ago-

 _"Caroline!" Tyler hissed as he edged his way deeper into the forest, he spotted his family's cellar-which now was under Matt's name as was the mansion- he instinctively knew the way forward as he pushed himself away from the trees further into the forest. "Caroline!" He tried again keeping his voice low trying not to alert anyone who could be nearby._

 _He continued moving steadily, his head fully focused in finding the blond._

 _'Snap'_

 _He froze not moving an inch, he couldn't hear anything or smell anything out of the ordinary. Being human was definitely not an advantage._

 _Keeping his breathing steady he shifted forward a step before coming to a halt as a burning light illuminated his surroundings. He kneeled immediately squinting his eyes as he focused on the origin of the light._

 _Plumes of incandescent air rippled before evaporating in the blink of an eye, the only thing being left behind was a figure standing in the shadows._

 _Tyler inched closer trying to get a better look before his eyes widened as the figure's face was illuminated by another cloud of illuminated light._

 _Connor Jordan...and Galen Vaughn..._

 _Tyler began retreating as he realised who both the figures were-hunters._

* * *

 _"Dammit where are you?" Tyler murmured keeping to the shadows as he entered the centre of town, he pushed himself into an alley as figures rounded the corner. He watched surreptitiously as they were joined by a few more people, the flickering streetlights allowed a glimmer of observation._

 _"Mr Tanner?" Tyler whispered as he recognised the man who had been his history teacher and football coach. He observed the people carefully, many of whom had died a long time ago and a few he didn't recognise._

 _"I was dead." His eyes snapped to the woman who spoke those words. "I was_ dead, _I don't understand..." her voice trailed as the pale blond ran her fingers hesitantly along the curve of the stone fountain. "How are we here?" She whispered to herself before Mr Tanner moved towards her._

 _"Just be glad we are." He murmured, his eyes leaped from place to place before a smirk spread across his lips, "I've got some unfinished business here." He walked past the woman who shook her head in disbelief._

 _"I don't understand..." she repeated once again, "How am I alive?" She looked around her surroundings letting Tyler catch a glimpse of her features. Her blond hair whipped over her shoulder as her hazel eyes took in the darkness._

 _"Jenna..." Tyler whispered as he recalled the woman from his memory, Elena and Jeremy's aunt. "What the hell is happening?' He asked himself as he spotted a few more faces walking up and down the street which he recognised._

* * *

 _"Mom, we've got to go!" Caroline hissed as she grabbed Liz' wrist and pushed her into Matt's truck that Caroline had parked outside of the Sheriff's office. The blond ran to the other side of the car and dropped the sun-visor feeling a hint of pride as the keys dropped into her hand._

 _"Caroline, let me drive-" Liz began before scrambling for her seatbelt as Caroline spun the car round without any thought and began racing towards the outskirts of town. "Caroline, slow down." Liz said as she looked at her daughter who remained focused on the road. "Caroline-"_

 _"We can't slow down mom, we need to get out before the barrier becomes permanent." She turned into a quiet road sheltered by trees, "I can't leave you behind." Caroline murmured keeping her eyes on the road._

 _Liz watched her daughter carefully, the younger blonde's eyes were wide with fingers curved over the steering wheel in a death grip with pale white knuckles._

 _"You told me not to worry."_

 _After a moment's hesitation Caroline replied. "I lied."_

* * *

 _"Oh my-" Caroline breathed out as the car stilled._

 _Stefan was standing in front of the car. Liz made to get out of the car._

 _"Stefan? I don't-" Caroline grabbed her mother's wrist stopping her from leaving._

 _Caroline watched as the man tilted his face and a manic smile crawled across his lips._

 _"Silas." The blond breathed out uncontrollably as fear consumed her body. "That's not Stefan, it's Silas."_

* * *

 _Tyler raced through the forest heading back towards the barrier he had first entered. Searching Caroline's house and the Sheriff's office lead to no clues. Both places had been absent from either women and he had no choice but to stop looking any further and return._

 _He had seen the Travellers begin to grow stonger acting like a swarm through the town, there was no way of him escaping the town filled with darkness if he didn't make the barrier by the next few minutes seeing as the moon was coming to it's peak in the night black sky._

 _The brunette continued to charge through the branches that scratched at his hands and face, being a hybrid certainly would have had it's advantages at that point but seeing as he no longer held that ability there was nothing more to do than to keep running and hoping that he made it back in time._

 _"Dammit." Tyler gasped as a thick tree branch sliced against his side pulling away his shirt and cutting through his skin allowing blood to seep out. "Shit." He hissed as he pushed the branch away and stepped forward, catching a good look at the wound he sighed a breath of relief, it wasn't deep and as long as he kept moving he could fix it soon enough. He stumbled over a root in the leaf covered dirt and ended up on a narrow road leading out of town._

 _Tyler ground his teeth together as he pulled the shirt over the cut and pressed onto it harshly putting pressure on the wound, his hand was blotched in his own blood which he would have been annoyed at if it wasn't for the two red lights he could see shining in mid air._

 _Scrunching his forehead, he cautiously got closer squinting as he tried to make out why the lights were shining at such an odd level. It was as if they were floating in mid air. Fog started to descend on the road and curl itself around the thick tree trunks as he walked closer._

 _Two red lights...mid-air...trees...car._

 _The brunette started to jog closer when he realised that what previously seemed to be a car was now a blue truck with it's bonnet smashed against a large tree that hadn't been damaged in any way._

 _"Matt?" Tyler murmured once he figured out that the truck was Matt's. "Matt." He repeated coming to a full sprint until he reached the ruined truck._

 _The windscreen was smashed, glass was lying everywhere and the front end was completely merged with the wooden trunk. The hood had ripples and dents in it whilst the wipers were hanging off snapped in half from the impact._

 _He glanced around before peaking into the passenger seat that was covered in bloodstained glass, roaming his sight around the interior he noticed the driver's door slightly open. He walked steadily to the other side making sure to keep the awarness of his surroundings at optimum level. As he rounded the corner of the truck he froze._

 _There lay Liz, her eyes open staring up at the dark starless sky with her arms outstretched and her sheriff's badge on the ground stained in blood._

 _"Sheriff Forbes..." Tyler rushed towards her coming to kneel beside her but avoiding the pool of blood encompassing her murky blond hair. He reached out to touch her face but stilled not being able to bring himself to feel the air of death around her. He took a solemn moment before pulling himself up and scanning the area."Caroline." He said loudly as he searched for a sign of the blond. There had been blood on the passenger's side, she must have been in the car. "Caroline!" He shouted louder. His breath left in white clouds as he panted in confusion and desperation._

 _Liz Forbes was dead._

 _Caroline was nowhere to be found._

-but eventually their paths had crossed once again.

Tyler grabbed the trash bag and lifted it up as he made his way out towards the back as Caroline followed. They stepped down the creaky wooden stairs and walked a few yeards further.

"What is it?" Caroline placed her hands in her pockets as she watched the brunette place the trash bag into the bin before setting his focus on her.

"I need to know how confident you are of the Bhaltairs." Tyler narrowed his eyes.

"What happened?" The blond rolled her eyes.

"Why do you assume somethings happened?"

"Because you never involve yourself in wolf business in areas outside of your rule _unless_ it's a threat." Tyler shrugged. "So?"

"So..."

"Is it?" A beat passed. "A threat?"

The blond glanced over her shoulder back to the house hearing that Maria was occupied with Mason and looked back to face Tyler.

"Abel is dying. He's made Jesse the new alpha-" Tyler nodded.

"And because he isn't blood his ascent will be objected by wolf clans close by in order to take the clan." Tyler cocked his brown, "The Baltairs are no direct threat to you. You know that."

"I wasn't going to ask about me." Caroline raised her eyebrow, Tyler blinked as the cool air swept past them.

"They're a _diffiult_ group to deal with." He paused trying to find the right words but sighed once he failed. "They'll move in the moment Abel takes his last breath. You know that."

Caroline nodded slowly reading between the lines. "They're not known for their peace negotions." She murmured.

"My advice to you is keep them away. Shut down any possibilities of a takeover before they step a foot onto your soil, Care."

The blond pressed her lips together in fustration as the depth of the situation completely dawned on her.

"They're going to want the city." She stated with an air of finality.

"And they're not going stop until they've exhausted each and every way to do it..."

 **So...how was it?**

 **I know it was quite short but due to school and other commitments I haven't been able to update as quick as I would like so I uploaded as much as I've written so far because I didn't want to leave it any longer.**

 **I hope this chapter added a little more to what you already knew and brings bigger questions and twists into play.**

 **See you soon, I hope...:D**


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